


Lignum Vitae; The Tale of The Universe

by baeconandeggs, haikyuuxkpop (ProudHaikyuuTrash)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Character Death, M/M, Mention of other Kpop idols - Freeform, Slight Mention of Blood, Slight Violence and Gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 18:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 63,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19115692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProudHaikyuuTrash/pseuds/haikyuuxkpop
Summary: What was supposed to be a harmless search for another inhabitable planet turns out leaving Chanyeol stranded in a lonely planet.Out of everything that he expects, he does not expect to find a silver haired man from a planet he was taught to hate. He also didnt expect to unlock secrets he didnt even know lied in his soul.He certainly didn't expect to learn that the kind he was taught to hate....he belonged with them.He didn't expect a lot of things but when they happened, they changed him forever and for good.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** BAE159  
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.  
>   
> 
> **Author's Note:** I am not really satisfied with the fic. Specially the ending is hurried because my life is an absolute mess right now. I hope you enjoy the fic and indulge in my shitty writing. I know I can do much better than this but right now with the way life is going I'm just glad to share this with you.  
> To BAE mods, I can't thank you enough for your patience at dealing with me and all the problems I encountered. I'm grateful and I promise if I participate next year I'll send my fic even before the due date. It's a promise.  
> To my Betas, I love you but never again are you getting my fics. That was such chaos but thank you to you for reading this word vomit of almost 65k with patience. I know there are still mistakes I haven't finished and that's my fault. Dont blame yourselves. Love forever

_ “Spacecraft 9921-XMJD-614CB has arrived on EXO Planet L-1485. After 5 years of a 6journey through the intergalactic ways, we have finally reached our destination. If our assumptions are correct in about four decades, human colonies will be able to settle down on this planet” The astronaut-Park Chanyeol-says. “I am leaving the spacecraft for about 3 hours to go explore the planet and enforce any precaution.” _

_ However, as he lands, his eyes widen at the state of the planet in front of him. Where he had imagined a safe vibrant planet, the ground he stands on was anything but. So unlike the planet, he saw before leaving earth. _

_ He moves- heart twisting as he takes in the sorry state of what he hoped would be his home in a few years.  _

_ What has happened that caused such a beautiful planet to demolish like this? _

_ “This is astronaut Park Chanyeol. I am very sorry to deliver this news but it seems like this planet is unsuitable to live in.” _

_ He bent down to examine the ground for anything that might have withered the planet, and what he found was fascinating than any danger. There on the ground, despite the chaos around it, was a tiny leaf poking out of the ruined soil. He immediately cleared the soil around the tiny survivor, hoping that it was still alive. _

_ “I have found surviving plant! Surprisingly it is still thriving, though poorly.” He stood up and after a moment of contemplating he cupped the plant in his hands, deciding he would care for it in his craft for it to gain its vibrant health back. “I am taking the plant to my craft, I am going to care for it there and then replant it back on Planet 1485.” _

 

_ Later when Chanyeol got NASA’s reply to his messages, he was furious. Three years before his landing, few elementals- those bastards from Mars- landed on the planet. As soon as they saw the planet was suitable for living, with thriving and beautiful plants, they brought colonies in. Like they did with Earth, they started cutting down the plants for buildings. However, a grave mistake was made when they cut down the tree which was the source of life for the other trees. The Tree of Life- it’s called. Or was called. _

_ “Those aliens tried saving the planet but regardless of how many plants they tried to plant, all died out. Eventually, that resulted in the planet’s demise.” The voice message informed him. “We predicted that it might be livable in 50 or so years but the prediction is, well a prediction. You said you found a plant in the soil; that might be a window of hope. Take care of it and maybe that could be a start.” _

 

_ Chanyeol took care of the plant thoroughly, making sure it survives and when he was sure it is safe to replant the plant in the planet’s soil, he took it out. He guarded the plant and made sure it grew safely. _

_ Maybe it was the years in the void of space finally catching up to him but the 100 _ _ th _ _ day after his 25 _ _ th _ _ birthday, Chanyeol collapsed in the trunk of the plant- now a beautiful tree with golden leaves. He didn’t wake up. _

 

50 Years Later…

EXO Planet L-1485 was beautiful. The planet Chanyeol saw before leaving earth was returning to its glory, just like NASA had predicted. It was green and yellow and the sky was almost like earth’s; if not more beautiful. Chanyeol didn’t need his EMU suit anymore because of the fresh oxygen he now gets from the trees themselves. Chanyeol should be happy but he wasn’t.  

He was tired- so tired of living only to die 100 days after his 25 th birthday. The first 20 years he tried searching for the answers to why he was dying and being reborn. He tried his hardest, going scouting through the planet and trying to connect to NASA and even going as far as trying suicide but alas! Nothing ever worked. Every damn time he dies he is reborn into the same body, just a year younger. Sehun couldn’t help much but ask him to contact him once in a while to give updates. But when you die for the 20 th time, your resolve and anger dissipate turning into hopelessness and tiredness. 

Tomorrow, he would die for the 50 th time. He had no doubt he’d be reborn but Chanyeol was stubborn in every sense of the word.

“Tomorrow I will go to where I planted the tree of life. If I die, I want to do it near the tree I protected and cared for to save this damned planet. Talk to you in a week Sehunnie. When I am reborn” 

Chanyeol’s trek to the tree took him a whole day and when he was there it was already evening- star Meryl, the sun of 1485 already set. 3 more hours. When the sun had set completely, Chanyeol would lose consciousness, only to wake up when the sun had risen completely. He settles on the trunk of the tree with a fond caress to its bark. 

“Happy 50 th anniversary, Tree of Life,” Chanyeol says, smiling as he looks at the fragile plant from 50 years ago, now a magnificent entity. He wanted to hate the very core of his immortality but he had fathered this creation. It was because of him that this unfathomable structure of wood and greenery had survived and thus, like a parent who could never hate their child, he too couldn’t hate this tree.

He leaned against the bark and got his tablet out. No, before anyone asks, he didn’t have any Wi-Fi or internet or network whatsoever. But it had been a gift given to him by his sister before he left and been the big sap Park Chanyeol is he likes to reminisce before his “death.”

He looks at the pictures of his time on earth, scrolling through old conversations and baseless videos and inside jokes that he had shared with his friends. He gapes at the weird pictures send by his friends and smiles at the past dynamic he shared with his colleagues. 

He would be lying to say he doesn’t miss those moments, doesn’t wonder and inquire from Sehun how his family and friends are faring. He wants to go back, leave this planet and go back in the embrace of his mother, who now, despite the old age and health complications, is still the same woman with twinkling eyes and caring personality. He laughs when he remembers how Sehun had moaned about a 60-year-old Yoora and an 85-year-old mother who had barged in the conservatory and demanded to contact him, some 20 years back.

He wants to go back but it isn’t as easy as said. His rocket has little fuel which would run out within a year in the void of space and even if he dared take the risk, his youthful appearance compared to his friends and family old one would be hard to take. Not to say he might very well lose his direction to earth.

With his last thought spend in wistful thinking of a companion and the wellbeing of his family, Chanyeol closes his eyes.

An incredulous Chanyeol awakens in at midnight to the touch of someone on his face. As soon as Chanyeol opens his eyes, they meet with another pair of disbelieving baby blue ones. It takes somewhere between 5 to 20 seconds for his brain to process that another human- or that what he thinks  _ it _ is- is within a breath away from him.

As soon as his brain processes this information, however, he jumps into a sitting position, knocking his head with the other human’s (he had decided that’s what he would call this man. They look like the same species anyway). He immediately palms his forehead where it had hit the man and releases a whispered “Ow”

The man, when Chanyeol spies him from behind his fingers is also rubbing his forehead with a pout and furrowed brows. The only thing that came to Chanyeol’s mind was how cute this pop-up man is. “Is he even a man?” Chanyeol’s rational side chided but Chanyeol paid no heed.

“Who are you?” He asked after giving both of them a moment to recover. “How are you here?”

The man looked up, brows furrowing further. “Hictic Ma powtns”

Chanyeol arched a brow, “What?”

“Hictic Ma pawtns. Jupon ti al.”

“ _ What? _ ”

The man rolled his eyes. “I have been 100 years. You-” he cut himself off as if he couldn’t speak. “Mighu poli lothe.” It seems the man had a habit of furrowing his brows. “Why-why… are…You here?” the man said and his eyes brightened as he managed to convey his message. “Why are you here?” he said again, this time fluently.

“I have been here for 50 years now.” Chanyeol grumbled before his brain processed the information given by the man.”You have been here for 100 years?”

The man nodded. Then he stood up. Chanyeol scrambled as he stood up to stop the male from going anywhere.

“Hey! What’s your name? Are you from earth?” Chanyeol’s question was ignored as the male walked around the tree, eyes twinkling in fascination. “Hello?”

“Qui sis tam pulcher”

Chanyeol released a miserable sigh as the man kept murmuring to himself in a weird and foreign language. Who is this male?

“I asked a question! Please tell me your name.”

“Baekhyun.” The man said, coming to stand beside Chanyeol now. “Name- Baekhyun.”

“Baekhyun?” 

The male nodded again. Chnayeol sighed. “Can you speak Korean? Or English?”

The male gulped. ”English a little but no speak Korean.” The male said in English and Chanyeol sighed with relief. 

“It’s okay. Please speak in English. I don’t know how to speak any other language than English and Korean.” He said awkwardly. 

The male rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath. “mulksh pounhit terra people.”

“What?”

“Earthians so limited in your speech,” Baekhyun grumbled.

“Not like you could speak a million languages now, can you?” Chanyeol shot back.

“In Mars, my home… we learn to speak 12 speaks?” Baekhyun said but it sounded more like a question.

“Languages you mean.” Chnayeol corrected before whipping his head to the male beside him. “ _ You are from Mars? _ ”

“Yes. Mars. The Planeta beside… Earth.” Baekhyun confirmed.

Chanyeol, in an instance, scrambled as far as he could from the  _ Elemental _ . As he saw Chanyeol move as far from him, Baekhyun’s eyes dimmed.

“Please. Run don’t. Both us is humans.”

“No, we are not! Don’t classify yourself as a human. You Mars weirdoes have weird genetics unlike humans” Chanyeol shook his head. “You are destroyers.”

Baekhyun’s blue eyes darkened. “We  _ are  _ humans. We have special abilities because ancestors abandoned us and we had to adapt.” The male’s eyes brightened. “Earthians have abilities too. You forget we are the same species just living in different planetas. You never use abilities and that why you forget but if you don’t have them we wouldn’t either.”

“I don’t!  _ We  _ don’t!” Chanyeol said as he moved away further.

Baekhyun sighed and turned around. “Can we…become… be f…friends?”

Chanyeol shook his head.  _ No way _ would he ever even  _ come in contact _ with a Martian. Still, some part of him was overridden by guilt when he saw Baekhyun’s shoulders droop even more.

“Please… stick together…” mumbled Baekhyun.”It very…lonely alone.”

Chanyeol relaxed then. Baekhyun’s words having an instant effect as his fear lightened. He was right. The two of them were lonely, and if he had almost gone mad from his loneliness in just 50 years, how strong did Baekhyun had to be to last a whole 100 years? 

As if Baekhyun had heard his question, he turned around. “A lot. I guess.”

Chanyeol ignored his instincts as he cautiously walked up to Baekhyun. “I am Chanyeol. Let’s work together.”

Baekhyun smiled brightly. “Nice to meet Chanyeol.”

After their meeting, the two stuck together. Chanyeol had called Sehun a week later as promised and, in fast Korean, explained his meeting with Baekhyun, not wanting the  _ alien _ to understand their conversation

“His name seems familiar.” He had said. Sehun had nodded as if he too deemed the name familiar.

In the 5 days they have known each other, Chanyeol despite being cautious and wary of Baekhyun had to admit that having Baekhyun beside him despite little to no talking (partially due to the language barrier and partly due to Chanyeol’s wariness) it was way more comforting than he felt in the last 57 years since he had launched into space for this mission.

Baekhyun had taken Chanyeol to his home- or whatever it was- to show him the colony made by the Martians. The desolated, cold area had launched Chanyeol j into a pity almost immediately as he thought how scary and lonesome it would be to live in such an area and then thanked whatever deity was above that at least he lived in a warm green place.

The place looked as if some huge apocalyptic event had stormed it living nothing but ruins and remains of what once was. Baekhyun had still remained mysterious not speaking more than necessary. Chanyeol had forced Baekhyun to pick up his belongings and essentials before dragging him to his home.

“You’ll be staying with me” Chanyeol ordered, “This place is inhabitable. Get everything you need and we’ll share my rocket or whatever I call home.”

Baekhyun hadn’t spoken a word, doing as Chanyeol told him. Chanyeol requested to roam around for a bit as Baekhyun packed and the man had nodded jerkily and in a tiny voice said. “Careful. Not too far.”

Chanyeol didn’t notice it at first as he roamed around, taking in as much as he could to later report to Sehun, but as he went further, Chanyeol was overcome by dizziness and a headache. Thinking it was something in the air, he went further, trying to get away but the further he moved the more the dizziness increased and it heart started to ache. Chanyeol tried to walk back but the pain in his heart and the dizziness overcame him and he fainted.

When he awoke, the first thing he saw was Baekhyun looking devastated, moving frantically through the small space as if he was searching for something, muttering in Martian probably. 

“Baekhyun?” he whispered. “What happened?”

Baekhyun whipped his head around and in a swift motion moved on top of Chanyeol. 

“I told not to go far. Why not listen?” He growled, baring his teeth. “You not harmed. Are you?”

Chanyeol tried to process Baekyun’s broken English but before he could reply, Baekhyun forced him to lie down and got off him. “No moving. You stay here; I go get something for us.”

Without giving Chanyeol a moment to answer, Baekhyun swiftly left the room and Chanyeol noticed that as Baekhyun’s footstep disappeared, the ache in his heart restarted.

“What the hell is going on? Why does it hurt?” he asked the ceiling (or whatever of it was left) as if it held the answer to all of his inquiries.

Baekhyun returns soon with a bowl and pushes it onto Chnayeol’s hand. “Eat.”

Chanyeol, expecting some weird stuff, looks down at the bowl to be pleasantly surprised with lentil soup.

“Where did you get that?”

“I have.” Is the only thing Baekhyun says as he sits on the ground, piercing and yet soft eyes staring at him as he gulps the soup down.

“What?” Chanyeol asks, once he is finished with the soup and relishing in having eaten something other than tinned preserved food he bought with him.

“How long not eaten this?” Baekhyun asks voice calm and yet holding a tone of something indecipherable.

“57 years” He answers, looking at Baekhyun and smiling softly.

“From now on food is me,” Baekhyun announces and Chanyeol laughs. 

“You are food?”

“No! I give my food to you.”

“You’ll share your food with me?”

Baekhyun nods and stands up, taking the bowl from him and moving out of the room. 

“We go tomorrow. To your place.”

“Whatever you say.” Chnayeol answers.

They arrive at Chanyeol’s home at night. Chanyeol had thought Baekhyun would be awkward when he moves in his rocket-slash-home but the man surprises him as he settles his “bed” beside Chanyeol’s and asks for half of the room of what was Chanyeol’s bedroom. Chanyeol doesn’t disagree and lets the man take as much room as he needs.

When morning comes, Chanyeol takes Baekhyun around to show where he lives and tells Baekhyun to always locate the Tree of Life if he ever gets lost. Baekhyun doesn’t seem to listen to anything he says and instead looks around the green that surrounds them. The small “lake” or whatever it can be called filled with water, thankfully drinkable, seemed to intrigue the male the most so Chnayeol explains.

“Before I came, my rocket had been filled with water balls and food so if I ever get stuck in space, I could still live. I just put all the water I have to make the small lake and then uses the rocket system to purify any liquid to drinkable liquid.”

Baekhyun nods and asks.”How is here so green? It so beautiful.”

“I brought branches of The Tree of Life and planted it here and there and I guess 50 years is a long time for vegetation to grow on its own.” Baekhyun considers Chanyeol’s answer before shaking his head. 

“I think green because ‘ lignum vitae’ is alive again.” He says and nods his head as if that answer makes more sense than Chanyeol’s.

“Lignum Vitae?” Chanyeol asks. “What is that?”

“Tree of life, we call it lignum vitae”

Chanyeol nods before pulling Baekhyun to another spot. “Here, you can see the whole expanse of the land. As far as Lignum Vitae at least.” 

“It’s so beautiful. Nature mother must love you a lot for she gave you this beauty.” Baekhyun smiles, mesmerized by the scenery in front of him.

“Can I ask a question?” Chanyeol asks after a while. When Baekhyun nods, unable to take his eyes away from the view, Chanyeol continues. “How did you find me?”

Baekhyun stays quiet for a while before speaking, softly. “I have a… device. I plant Lignum Vitae and I look at the tree every once in a while. When I look for the tree again, I saw you there. I thought you look Martian so I ran, thinking I can finally go home but you are Earthian and when I reached there I saw you sleep so I touch your face to see if you live. You woke up and that’s how I met you. ”

“You planted the tree? When I came it was already growing… I thought Elementals ruined the planet before leaving and I wanted to save it so I took care of the tree and replanted it after a while.”

“We didn’t ruin the planet. We colonized a bit of it for a precaution in case something happens but the planet died and everyone had to leave.”

“How come you are left here then?” Chanyeol questions and feels Baekhyun stiffen.

“Long story.” Is all he gets as an answer as Baekhyun starts walking back to the rocket.

“Hey! Baekhyun, wait!” Chanyeol runs after the male who stiffly walks back to his- their- home.

“Food. I am hungry.” Baekhyun mutters as he enters the rocket and starts for the ”kitchen.”

“How do you have so many foods and even an oven?!” Chanyeol asks as Baekhyun gets the lentil soup out and puts in the oven.

“We are way advanced than Earthians. You forget we were a colony here before, meaning I have everything that I need here, Food, clothes, oven, books. Everything.” Baekhyun says proudly, eyes shining prettily. Chanyeol looks away before muttering a “good for you.”

As days pass, Chanyeol forgets his reservations and soon he gets along with Baekhyun better than he ever thought he could. After all, Baekhyun is a Martian. Baekhyun, too, seems to be getting more comfortable with him.  Though still a mystery, Chanyeol’s fear of Baekhyun’s hidden abilities depletes with every moment they spend together. 

They still have some communication problems and secrets of their own that they need to hide but, now the awkwardness that existed has shimmered down and laughter is shared more often.

Little by little, Chanyeol learns more and more about his alien (yes he is still too stubborn to accept that Baekhyun too, is a human) companion and the similarities and differences between the two cultures.

Chanyeol’s journal is filled with the new things that he learns about the Martian and the small adventures and expeditions that they go on often. They both had started to share small stories about their lives and respective planets and soon, the overly lonely and silent nights are filled with sharing memories and laughter on the soft grass; they days are filled with light-hearted bickering and exploring different parts of the planet that had been their home for more than 5 decades.

“Did you manage to find who Baekhyun is yet?” Chanyeol asks the person behind the screen billion miles away from him and in a safe warm planet.

“Not yet. The bastards wouldn’t share any information even if they are threatened. I am trying my best, Jun is trying to make a deal with their lead scientist,” Sehun explains, rolling his eyes. “Every time we try to highlight how important it is for us to know who it is that is with you, they ask for your data and we’ll rather eat shit than share our data with those betrayers.”

Chanyeol sighs. “Just- Just give them what they want. I don’t think they will do anything too bizarre. One of their own stuck in the same position as me, I don’t think they can cause any harm to me anyways. I am 500 billion miles away after all.”

“We’ll see what can be done. Also, I am not supposed to say this but I think the station is planning an effort to try reaching you and hopefully bringing you home.” Sehun whispers, smile bright and expectant. “I miss you hyung.” He mutters softly, letting go of professionalism for the sake of assuring the lonely man on a deserted planet that he is remembered.

Chanyeol looks away, closes his eyes and wills the tears away. “I miss you too, Hunnie.” He says, before bidding his goodbye and logging off from the network.

Baekhyun enters the room then, with hot food in his hand, eyes sad. “Food. Do you want anything else?”

Chanyeol leans back on his bed and takes the rice and soup from Baekhyun’s hand.”No, thanks.”

Baekhyun goes and sits on his own bed before looking at Chanyeol. “You are so lucky to be able to contact your friend. I wish I could.” He smiles sadly, ”I wonder if anyone even remembers me…”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol’s brows furrows and he stops eating, opting to look at Baekhyun instead. Baekhyun shakes his head, eyes trained above on the ceiling.

“Nothing, it doesn’t matter.”

“Baek, tell me.” Chanyeol orders, moving in front of Baekhyun. Baekhyun ignores his demand and changes the topic.

“What were you talking about with your friend?” He asks, taking a mouthful of rice. 

“Don’t change the topic, Byun Baekhyun. Tell me what you mean. You can trust me you know.” 

“Byun? H-how do you know my last name?” Baekhyun jerks, wide eyes looking up at Chnayeol, fear to invade his mind.

“I… I don’t know… it was a spur of the moment thing, I don’t even know what Byun is or-” Chanyeol’s voice wavers. “Why do I feel like.. I knew someone called Byun Baekbeom but why would I-” Chanyeol takes a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t know how I know your surname but since I do, my full name is Park Chanyeol. Now we are even.”

Baekhyun was still looking like he had been faced with some indescribable horror, looking at Chanyeol with terrified eyes. That’s when Chanyeol noticed the shaking of Baekhyun’s hand and almost instinct, he took the hands in his own, rubbing small circle. 

“Baek?” he called softly, crouching down on his knees so he could be in eye-level with the other male. “Baehyunnie? Talk to me, please.” He cups his friend’s face to try to meet their gazes.

Baekhyun is jerked out of his haze when Chanyeol shakes him, voice trying to stay steady as he calls his name repeatedly. “I-I am fine.”

“You-” Soon Baekhyun has wrapped his strong steady arms and Chanyeol’s angry yet worried voice soothing his nerves. “You scared me.”

“Yeol, Chanyeol, I need to show you something,” Baekhyun says after the atmosphere is ridden off the previous panic. “Please don’t get scared, but you need to know what I can do… I can’t risk your life for my loneliness.”

“What are you-” Baekhyun cuts Chanyeol off and asks for him to shut the lights. Confused, Chaneyeol obeys and soon the room is engulfed in darkness.

“Please don’t be scared… I won’t hurt you. I promise” Baekhyun says before Chanyeol is blinded by a burst of light. Chanyeol covers his eyes, swearing but then he feels gentle, quivering hands on his arm and hears Baekhyun whisper, “Open your eyes, Yeol.”

Listening to Baekhyun’s reassuring voice, he opens his eyes and what he sees pretty much knocks the breath out of him. There, in front of him, Baekhyun is standing with an unreadable expression on his face that Chanyeol can’t decipher. But what left him breathless was not his expression or anything of that matter. It was the fact that in front of him Baekhyun was shining. He was ablaze with a light that seemed to seep out of his body like flames making him glow. 

Chanyeol waited for the panic to hit him. The fear that Baekhyun might very well harm him or that he might die because of the  _ Martian germs _ that Baekhyun might have released or something. Yet, what he felt was his heartbeat increasing, becoming so loud, so erratic that it might jump off his chest. Instead of fear what he felt was immeasurable awe.

 In front of him, Baekhyun looked ethereal, magnificent, and when his gaze met Baekhyun’s nervous and hopeless ones, he shook his head hoping that it would assure Baekhyun that Chnayeol was not afraid since words were failing him. The disbelief in his eyes was too true that Baekhyun’s eyes dimmed, misunderstanding his message. He sagged, letting go of Chanyeol’s arm and turned around as if bidding goodbye.

Chanyeol, in a moment of panic, grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. He pulled a shocked Baekhyun in his embrace, relishing in the warmth that seeped out of the smaller body. His words failed him, Baekhyun, so magnificent that he was left tongue-tied. 

“Wow.” Is all he could breathe out as Baekhyun continued to glow, looking more and more beautiful with each moment that passed.

“Yeol?”

“Wow… wow,” Chanyeol murmured, “You’- you are so beautiful.”

In an instant, Baekhyun coloured, the light seeping out of him also changing to a shared of cherry pink.

“Yeol? Are you not afraid?” Baekhyun asked meekly, putting his arms slowly around Chanyeol’s waist as if he was still afraid of Chanyeol’s reaction.

“I would’ve been, even two weeks ago but now… No, I am not.” Chanyeol answered, smiling softly. “It’s been almost a month since we have been together… I think it’s enough time for me to realize that the ways we view Martians are wrong and that we are the same species living in different planets for long enough to develop some differences.”

Baekhyun kept quiet, only looking at Chanyeol that asks for honesty and Chanyeol was happy to give him that.

“I am telling the truth. Just because you suddenly have weird light magic doesn’t mean you are any less than me. Anyways who knows how helpful this power of yours might be for us in this strange planet?” Chanyeol raises an eyebrow with a teasing smile.

“I am glad,” Baekhyun says finally. Watching Chanyeol’s face morph into slight confusion, Baekhyun explains. “That you… that you are not scared of me anymore.”

“Oh, Baekhyunie~” Chanyeol coos. “How can I ever be scared of you when you are so damn adorable?”

“Shut up. I am not adorable.”

“You are.”

“Am not. Please let go of my cheeks Chanyeol.”

“Nope. Just look how cute you are, it’s not good for my health.”

“I’d rather you be scared of me than this. Yeol! My cheeks hurt. You have been holding them for the last 10 minutes.”

“But-”

“Yeol, fine I am cute. Now let go!”

“Fine! ~”

Since the unveiling of Baekhyun’s power, things between them had become more comfortable and daringly said, intimate. Baekhyun, now without a worry, lets his power seep through his skin; often glowing and looking more beautiful than ever. (Chanyeol’s words!)

One thing that definitely grew since that day was the skinship between Baekhyun and Chanyeol. More often than not, you’d find the two pressing against each other, cuddling, holding hands and the list goes on.

Now, Chanyeol labels that as ‘affection deprived mechanism short-circuiting’, while Baekhyun blames it on years of loneliness catching up to him. Whatever the case, they came to a silent agreement of never leaving each other’s side for more than 20 minutes.

As days pass in the lonely planet, both explore what they can of the planet, leaving certain spots out in fear of harming the planet and causing another befall. With the days, Chanyeol teaches Baekhyun Korean and English while he is taught Martian and Greek with some Latin spewed in.

Their nights are spent sharing stories of their childhood, teenage years, Baekhyun’s different escapades, and Chanyeol’s rebellious phase where he had almost got kicked out of his institution and dreams and aspirations.

While there is still daylight they roam around, taking note of the planet’s prosperities and sharing fairy tales they read when they were very young.

“My favourite is the myth of Tree of Life,” Baekhyun says one day, while they are trekking through the vast greenery. “It is such a nice fairy tale and yet it doesn’t quite feel like a fairy tale.”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asks, curious. “How does the tale goes?”

“It’s very long,” Baekhyun warns.

“Well, I don’t see much work here.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes, “Might as well hear it and enhance my Martian knowledge.

“Nah. Maybe later, we have all the time in the world,” Baekhyun grinned, “Literally.”

Chanyeol groaned. “It’s not fair! You are being selfish.”

“I promise I’ll tell you later, now I want to tell you something else.”

“Tell me what?”

“The truth about Martians and L-1485.” Baekhyun said, “What you have is nothing but a misunderstanding of the situation.”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asked curiously.

“Before Martians even put a foot on this planet, I did. To look at what the drones had found. To report back to Mars but when I came, it was already like this. Martians never really colonized L-1485. Since there were still some trees left, I decided to just get the supplies that were being sent here and maybe help the planet regain its original state,” Baekhyun states, “but turns out it worsened.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There were only a very few trees left and since I am used to living in mars… I didn’t feel much different. I don’t know what caused its destruction but when I came the planet was already on the brink of extinction.”

“But-” Chanyeol started before Baekhyun talked over him.

“But my rocket had crashed-for some reason none of my machines was working even if I did a safe landing. I couldn’t even contact SpaceX… and I assume everyone thought I had died, no one tried to contact me.”

“I roamed around and then, settled under a tree- The Lignum Vitam. Then I don’t remember what happened… I guess I fainted under the tree even though that can’t explain why I was dead for almost 20 years. ”

“What?” Chanyeol exclaimed. “Dead what?”

“I guess death is the best way to describe that phase considering I was completely blacked out for 20 Earthian years.”

“What happened after you woke up?” Chanyeol asked, getting in a comfortable position under the tree and turning toward Baekhyun.

“When I woke up… I wasn’t under any tree but inside a room which I later learned was the morgue…and there wasn’t  _ anyone _ or  _ anything _ here. Nothing. Absolutely nothing, except two deceased souls. It was just overturned soil and odour, all the trees- the remaining 10 trees all gone.”

“At first in my confusion, I looked around where I was but with days, my strength recovered and I started roaming around again. That was when I came across the place that was my home until now. The buildings had been destroyed and yet the ones that stood were too dangerous and radioactive to live in.”

“I went in all of them anyways, tried to find out about the past 20 years and yet didn’t find anything. But then I came across the one where I lived for the past 80 years. That was the only one that was not as dangerous as the others but quite far from the rest. I found endless supplies of food, water, gadgets, everything.”

“But?” Chanyeol pressed on feeling there is more.

“But what I found was a note, only a few sentences; it read, ‘Stay safe for there are greater dangers than seen. Forgive us for abandoning you but you have a secret within you that shan’t be revealed till the right time that comes’… and… and it told me to search. For what, I don’t know. It was written as a poem as if masking a message only known by who wrote it.”

“What did it say?”

“Search within thy soul for the secret remains hidden in the deepest corner of itself and when the light is shed upon it; the revealing of the mysteries is inevitable. I leave thee to do my bidding as my time has come, so fulfil my wish Luxiona for you will be the first soul to find the answers of the deepest secrets of our people.”

“Have you uncoded it? Any clue as to what it means?”

“I don’t know… This poem…it was a poem that Martians chant at our coming of age ceremony, Luciana means light bearer and every light bearer in Mars are considered the strongest for Light is a rare element to get. Luxiana is the goddess of light, who is thought have made Mars livable for mankind to inhabit. All of her descendants’ either possess fire or light as their elements, thus be regarded in the highest.”

“The writer had not only left me the letter but everything I might need to survive on this planet. Oxygen masks, barrels of water, purifiers, solar ovens, sacks of foods… everything. Only telling me to be careful and search. For what I still don’t know but I had acted on my instinct to save this planet from its extinction, planting the seed for Lignum Vitae and looking after it.” 

“What the hell?” swore Chanyeol, “They really left you like that to figure everything on your own?”

“I was mad for a long time but I guess you learn to forget with time. As absurd as it sounds, I also had “death” episodes,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, putting drawing quotation marks with his fingers to emphasize the death. “For a reason or another, I would lose my consciousness for a day or two and wake up unscathed yet feeling more and more hopeless.” 

“It happened to you too?!” Chanyeol interrupted voice expressing shock and disbelief. “You would lose consciousness too?”

“Ye- what do you mean  _ you too? _ ”

“I was having, as you described it, a death episode when you found me,” Chanyeol explained.

“When I found you I had just woken up from another death episode and had run to the tree for something was nagging my mind, telling me to go and then I saw you passed out under the tree.“

“It has been a month since I had my episode… it was consistent for 50 years and now it’s almost been two months and I have yet to another episode.”

“I have been consistent in my death episodes for more than a century! There is something going on… it can’t just suddenly cure what has been consistent for a hundred years. Do you think there’s anything that might possibly trigger the reversal of our conditions? ”

“I don’t know Baek, I don’t know.” Chanyeol said after a moment of quiet.”This planet is a strange one and for some reason, I have a feeling this- all of this is somewhat planned… our… situations, they must be connected… we must have some connections.”

”What can it be Chanyeol?”

“Your note- the one that you were left with… it might hold some clue…and who knows if we search together, we might discover something vital. I have a feeling we’ll find something vital of we search thoroughly”

“Tomorrow, I have had enough drama for today.” Baekhyun yawned, leaning his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Vega’s shining very bright today.”

“It’s Meryl.” Came Chanyeol’s deadpanned rebuttal as he leaned his head on the bark of the tree and let his body relax. 

“Meryl’s the one beside it, dumbass. It’s Vega.”

“Vega’s not even in this galaxy.”

“It is. That star is Vega.”

“I said it’s Meryl.”

“It’s Vega.”

“Meryl.”

“Vega.”

“You know what? Let’s rename it later. It’s gonna be our sun anyways. Shut up now and take a nap.”

“Clever.”

As the first rays of the still unnamed sun hit the planet, Chanyeol and Baekhyun prepared for their expedition that day. They packed their backpacks in comfortable silence and did other necessary things like eating a good breakfast and freshening up before they set out in the early morning.

“Do you really think we might find something?” Baekhyun asks, hopeful and excited. Chanyeol resisted the urge to coo at the man who looked more like a puppy than a human (yes, he had finally accepted Martians as the same species) with soft, droopy and twinkling eyes and a bright smile.

“We might, last time it was only you; since we are from different planets, I might find that may seem important to me even though it’s worthless to you.” He smiled, as the other man started marching all of a sudden, acting as if he was a child which Chanyeol was sure he is at heart. “Baekhyunee, slow down!”

“Race you there, Yeol!” Baekhyun giggled before sprinting off at top speed. “C’ mon!”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes before he broke off into a run of his own. “That’s cheating; you can’t just run off like that!”

“Oops! Too bad then,” Baekhyun laughed, slowing a bit, “There you go, and I slowed down a bit.”

“Really, are you sure you are human?” Chanyeol asked after they have calmed down from their very sudden competition. “Are you sure you are not a puppy? Are you sure you are not a golden retriever hybrid or something?”

“What are you even talking about you Yoda ears? Why would I be a dog hybrid? I am 90% a cat person, and the rest 10% is for my welsh corgi.”

“You are too hyper to be a cat person…did you just call me Yoda? What for?”Chanyeol exclaimed, hitting Baekhyun on his shoulder.

“The ears. They are Yoda’s. From Star Wars.” Baekhyun answered, grinning.

“Excuse me, have you seen yourself?! You are probably shorter than the 7 seven dwarfs in Snow White. Coming out of nowhere to call me a Yoda, you freaking midget.”

“Well then Mr Giraffe, I am sorry I don’t have legs a mile long and a face the size of an ant like you,” Baekhyun answered, rolling his eyes.

“You-” Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun in a headlock as the victim male trashed in his hold.

“Okay, okay! I am sorry. Yeol, I can’t breathe!” Baekhyun squealed as Chanyeol tightened his arms around Baekhyun’s head.

“I trusted you and you called me Yoda. What is loyalty anymore?!” Chanyeol cried, dramatically after he released a much traumatized Baekhyun from his hold.

“You didn’t have to kill the only companion you have on this planet because you can’t distinguish between loyalty and honesty, asshole.” Baekhyun retorted, rubbing his nape to soothe the pain.

Chanyeol observed him for a moment before placing his hand on top of Baekhyun’s on his neck. “Sorry, was it too much? I didn’t mean it. Is it hurting too much? I-”

“Dumabass… Calm down, it's fine. Don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt.” Baekhyun comforted when he saw Chanyeol’s regretful eyes. “Really! I am fine.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it,” Chanyeol said once again before diverting the conversation. “Do you like astrology?”

“No, I am clearly not a 30-year-old astronaut for nothing,” Baekhyun replied, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

“Not astronomy, astrology. The reading of stars.” Chanyeol explained. “Like the Zodiac signs, oh what’s your Zodiac?”

“Taurus,” Bakehyun replied. “I don’t really know, honestly. I am surely fascinated by the stars and all but to read them, I think is not my forte.”

“I studied astronomy thinking it was astrology and all throughout my life in the institution. I was left wondering why on earth we only learned about stars until 2 nd grade and where are the zodiacs that are a must for astrology. When I graduated high school, I realized the difference and then decided since I already studied astronomy; might as well do something in that field.”

“Why is your life so interesting?” Baekhyun whines, “The most interesting thing that happened in my life being stuck in a planet, all alone for 100 years and then finding you.”

“Sucks to be you.” Laughed Chanyeol, “At least you are interested in yourself. I mean you have a whole superpower, if finding out its uses isn’t interesting, I really think I can’t define the word anymore.”

“Well, you got that right. It was  _ very _ interesting to find out about this power of mine and scare my friends shitless.”

“Why do I have a feeling you were the devil incarnation?”

“Maybe I was, I once shut down all the lights in my institution, because I was pissed at our self-defence teacher. Only my best friend knew it was me and he has the power of lightning, which also means he can control electric flow and he kept all the system down for 48 hours to help me.” Baekhyun sighed, “Ah, he was a whiny bastard but he was the best ever friend you can have… if there’s one person I miss it’s him.”

They quietened as a heavy feeling settled over them. For the thousandth time, Chanyeol thought how he was already homesick beyond comprehension within only 50 years when the other man had been alone and lonely for double the time already.

He studied the other’s profile discreetly, feeling an indescribable feeling blooming in his heart.

“You know… Sehun told me Mars and Earth is possibly collaborating in an attempt to rescue us… said it will take somewhere between 5-10 years depending on if Mars cooperates; Earth has already started their preparations and procedures to go ahead with the plan.”

“Yeah, you told me…” Baekhyun became quiet again, “I think if one good thing comes from our situation it’s that the two planets are willing to put aside their differences… makes you think how this cold war even lasted more than ten centuries if it can be put off by two strayed astronauts in a weird planet.”

Chanyeol nodded in agreement, mulling over the possibility of uniting the conflicting planets and how great it would be for the prosperity of both planets.

After a long, exhausting trek they neared their destination just before nightfall. As the two came nearer to their destination, they quietened, opting to keep silent and look out for anything unnatural. Each had been surveying their surroundings looking for signs, mind focused thoroughly on their environment to hold a proper conversation.

Deciding to finally rest after the long journey, the two settled near the broken buildings that were once Baekhyun’s shelter.

Now, finally relaxing while preparing their food, the two decides to discuss anything that caught their eyes.

“Chanyeol, did you find anything?” Baekhyun starts off, unwrapping a water capsule and popping it in his mouth. 

Chanyeol shook his head, preferring to chew his food than talking, “Nothing unusual, I mean rubble and destroyed pieces of boulders are all there is until we dig deeper tomorrow. Have you got the letter you found anywhere here?”

“It’s probably where I used to live, lying between stacks of worthless papers I threw around.”

“You think we’ll find anything?”

“I don’t know, I spent 75 years looking, but who knows? Maybe you’ll find something that is unnatural to you.”

“Hmm… shine some light here please,” Chanyeol says and waits till Baekhyun lights up before rummaging through his bag. “Did you bring the potatoes?”

“I think so. Check my bag.” He says, playing with a strand of light while chewing on rice. He waits till Chanyeol is settled back with the bag of roasted potatoes before asking, “You know, I think we should start a farm.”

Chanyeol chokes. Baekhyun waits patiently for the human to calm down before elaborating. “We are going to run out of the supplies sooner or later, we still have a lot left but if the collaboration between Mars and Earth happens then from my side I am sure we’ll be sent at least two big eaters-huge eaters in fact. It’s going to run out in months.”

“How are you so sure?” Chanyeol asks, back to eating the potatoes as if he just didn’t choke. “We are astronauts; we don’t know anything about farming!”

“They are my platonic soul mates.” Baekhyun said simply, laughing when Chanyeol rolls his eyes, “Really, they are. There’s no better word to describe them. I have had them beside me, behind me, in front of me, around me my whole life.”

“Until you got stuck here,” Chanyeol says.

Baekhyun’s eyes dim. “Until I got stuck here.”

“And I know if there’s anyone who will willingly leave Mars, without the guarantee of ever returning, those two would do it in a heartbeat.”

“I have two fools like that as well…” Chanyeol says, deciding to share a bit about  _ his _ friends so Baekhyun doesn’t think he was one of those loner nerds obsessed with space as he had sounded in their previous story sessions. “Actually it four, but two of them are mature enough, wise enough to consider the consequences before jumping on the boat… or the spacecraft.”

“They are my brothers, maybe not from the same mother but they are still my brothers.”

“They do say a family is not always your blood…” Baekhyun murmurs. “I guess Chen and Xiumin are the same to me. They are my brothers from different mothers.”

“Yeah… I miss them… I miss them so much…It’s hard…to not get woken up by two hooligans jumping on my bed or not to feel them sneak in my bed for cuddles because it was a hard day… I miss Junmyeon hyung nagging me every time I have a patrol duty overnight or stayed up too late playing games…”

“I miss Sehun being a brat but a baby, never leaving my bed as if his bed isn’t 10x bigger than mine, I miss Jongin and his whining when he is ignored… I miss Kyungsoo’s cooking which tasted much better than my sister’s.” Chanyeol stuffed his mouth with more potato slices, pouting as he recalled his best friends, _ his brothers _ .

Baekhyun sighs, putting his bowl down before moving in front of Chanyeol, “Now, now…Yeollie, don’t be sad. It’s okay to miss the people who were around you and shaped you… We can’t  _ not _ miss them when we are so used to their presence.”

“I miss Chen and his off-key singing first thing in the morning or his annoying whining which I never thought would happen,” Baekhyun laughs, “I miss him cutting the electricity off every night because he can’t be bothered to switch the lights off and then moaning in the morning for me to use my power to spare him some light.”

“I miss Xiumin hyung, who was closer to me than my actual older brother. I miss how we’d have to turn the heater up extra high in winter because he loses control over his power when he is too tired or too deep in sleep.”

“I miss sliding in his bed with Dae at an ungodly hour in the morning because it was too hot and he’d be giving off a cooler temperature. I miss him putting his unbelievably cold hands on my neck- my most sensitive place- just to annoy me… ”

“And I’m glad that I miss them because that is a driving force for me to go on knowing they are proud of me wherever they are now. And… you are not alone you know? We are together, as a team, you have me…I can’t stop you from missing your brothers but if you are feeling too sad, hell, if you are feeling the slightest bit upset, you can come to me.”

“I know, I know that.” Chanyeol says, staring at Baekhyun with shining eyes, “As mean as it sounds, I’m glad you are stuck in this planet too.”

The two share a laugh before quietening again. This time, the silence was like a comforting hug that their brothers might have given them if they were present.

 

By the time Baekhyun woke up the next day, the sun was shining brightly above their heads. He straightened from his curled position by a piece of a boulder, letting out a yawn as he scanned his surroundings. Seeing Chanyeol still asleep, lying on a blanket with drool escaping his open mouth, he giggled to himself, fixing the blanket on Chanyeol, deciding to let the other sleep a little more, before standing up and stretching.

Quietly, as to not disturb the sleeping male, Baekhyun got set on fixing their breakfast, getting a can of soup and some rice out from his bag to cook.

By the time Chanyeol woke up, Baekhyun had finished cooking and was packing their things so they can get going after eating breakfast.

“Hmm…good morning, Baek” Chanyeol yawned, sitting up and smiling dopily.

“Good morning, sleepy head.” Baekhyun grinned, folding his blanket, before extending a hand and ruffling the other’s hair. “Slept well?”

“Hmm, had a great dream,” Chanyeol answered, standing up and stretching.  He saw the bowls of rice and soup, letting out a happy whine. “You cooked!”

“Yes, I did, because someone was too deep in their dreamland, do you want to eat now?”

“Of course!” Chanyeol said, taking a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks from Baekhyun’s hand, “I’m starving…”

“Eat then,” Baekhyun laughed, “So, what’s today’s plan? Are we surveying the whole area or certain parts?”

“Let’s begin with the area you lived in. Since we have to be very careful with everything we find, I think it’s better to focus on smaller areas and survey them cautiously rather than casting an eye over the whole area and miss bits.”

Baekhyun hummed around his mouthful, preferring to eat than give a verbal answer.

“Chanyeol please calm down and stop acting so cautious. There’s nothing really harmful here.” Baekhyun groaned after being pulled back for the nth time because of Chanyeol’s carefulness. “I lived here for half a century for God’s sake.”

“Better be careful than regret it later.”

“You goof, it’s going to take us our whole life to get this area done if you carry on like this.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, pulling the other with him as he marched through the boulders.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol gasped, “We might miss something!”

“We can survey the outside area later, it will be hard to survey inside the buildings if it gets dark.

“Oh…”

“Yeah, c’ mon lets go inside now.”

“I’m glad I have you here to see sensibly.” Chanyeol grinned, laughing as Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“You better be.”

The two surveyed buildings after building, taking extra time in the station like ones, now burnt and barely standing. When the sun was leaning at the west, the two decided, it was enough working for the day and found a place they can settle in for the night.

The routine carried on for three days with little to no success. By the fourth day, the pair was giving up on finding anything significant.

It was their last set of buildings and they hoped they’ll find something there that would help them find answers to their hundreds of unanswered questions.

The stench of chemicals and rotten plants filled the air as the pair made their way inside. Chanyeol covered his nose, feeling bile coming up his throat. He glanced at Baekhyun, assessing him as to find any sense of discomfort. Though his nose was scrunched up, he didn’t show any other signs of disgust or sickness.

“Be careful,” Baekhyun had warned before they entered but Chanyeol couldn’t find any signs of potential dangers… well except the disgusting smell that thickened the air. “This set of buildings was the most affected by whatever the hell happened during my sleep.”

Chanyeol barely contained a gag as the air thickened even more, the stench now even more prominent, even more unbearable. He wanted to ask how Baekhyun is lasting through this when he feels like fainting even with his nose covered; he dared not- if he opens his mouth there’s no guarantee that his breakfast wouldn’t come up.

The light from outside slowly dimmed as they made their way deeper into the labyrinth of the ill-fated establishments.

As it got darker, Baekhyun let his magic ( _ its called power, Chanyeol _ ) flow, brightening the way and providing light for Chanyeol. Chanyeol, as always, was mesmerized- put in a slight trance as Baekhyun glowed ethereally.

Maybe because his attention was on Baekhyun, he didn’t notice the missing tile as he put his foot on the empty space and tripped. Leg stuck in the place where the missing tile would be, he tipped forward and if it wasn’t for Baekhyun’s quick instincts he would have lost at least a couple teeth.

“I  _ told _ you to be careful!” Baekhyun gritted out, trying to keep the foul taste of the air out as much as he can. “Are you okay?”

Chanyeol nodded, not daring to open his mouth. Baekhyun pulled him up, nose scrunching deeper, “Don’t let go of my hand and focus on finding something!.”

Chanyeol nodded again, stretching his leg once before Baekhyun started walking again.

They were in the weakest and deepest part of the broken building now and the stifling stench was stronger and more horrid than ever. Chanyeol knew his hand was sweaty- from fear, uncertainty or nervousness he didn’t know. His gut was yelling at him to get out, that something was wrong here. His nerves were all over the place and he honestly felt like his legs would give out any time soon.

Even breathing was hard because of the influx of the odour every time he tries to take in the much-needed oxygen.

Baekhyun however, Chanyeol noticed from the corner of his eyes, had no problem marching on, inspecting the walls- blackened and slimy, eyes picking every detail. Chanyeol too tried his best inspecting his share but the overwhelming stench provided a barrier.

“You ok?” Baekhyun murmured, worried eyes scanning Chanyeol’s face, “Is it too much?”

Chanyeol thought of lying so they could carry the mission on, however, it  _ really _ was getting too much, the lack of oxygen was making his head spin and he knew at one point, sooner or later, he’ll lose consciousness. Unable to speak, Chanyeol only nodded, staring at Baekhyun’s neutral expression as he processed Chanyeol’s state.

“C’ mon,” Baekhyun said after a while, reaching for his wrist and pulling him forward, “Let’s get out of here, you look like you are going to faint any second.”

Chanyeol preferred staying quiet, letting Baekhyun pull him through the maze of corridors, trying to keep as much oxygen as possible in his lungs.

When he trained to be an astronaut, he didn’t sign up for going through weird, rundown buildings like some secret agent. Yet here he is with a male from a whole different planet than his, running through dark corridors like some FBI agent, barely breathing.

He would have laughed at his trail of thoughts but, once again, it was impossible. They ran- well, speed walked considering how the weakened floor could give in any time and running on them could only increase the chances of unwanted injuries.

With all his focus on preserving his breathing, he failed to notice it when Baekhyun came to a halt, abruptly stopping. He bumped into Baekhyun, gasping as he tried to keep his balance, the other male immediately pulling his arm so he doesn’t slip.

“Jeez! Why would you stop out of no-” Chanyeol stopped in his speech, noticing the lack of the stench that had been following them since they entered the building. “The smell’s gone!”

Baekhyun didn’t reply, Chanyeol turned to the other male and opened his mouth before stopping. Baekhyun looked terrified. Eyes open wide, teeth biting in his lip and face losing blood. Chanyeol nudged the horror-stricken male, worriedly glancing at the corridor Baekhyun is staring at and the male, “Baekhyun-ah?”

Baekhyun’s knees wobbled, Chanyeol quickly catching the male before he hit the ground, “Baekhyun!” Chanyeol stabilized his partner, before cupping his face in his hands, “Baekhyun-ah, breath. It’s okay, breath.” He guided, pulling the other’s face close to his so he could only focus on the instruction, 

“There you go, deep breaths yeah? It's okay.”

“I-its not, Chanyeol…” Baekhyun murmured, shaking, grasping Chanyeol hand tight, for silent reassurance, “T-this... This place… this building was a research facility…”

“What?” Chanyeol surprised yell resounded through the cracked walls. “What do you mean?”

“I-I…In Mars…” noticing Baekhyun’s distressed state, Chanyeol quietened him, telling him to tell the details later.

“Let's get out of here first hmm?” Chanyeol said softly,” You can tell me about this later okay?”

Baekhyun nodded shakily but then shook his head, “Chanyeol… let's check this out.. this might be important.”

“We can come back later, you are clearly shocked by this, I can’t have any-”

“I’ll be fine,” Baekhyun rubbed his forehead, “Let’s just… finish this today, I can’t come back in here… please.”

Chanyeol analyzed Baekhyun for a while, calculating the stakes before sighing, “Stay close to me, and we leave  _ immediately _ if you feel the sick or weak in the slightest.”

“Okay, fine, let’s, let’s just get this over with.”

Chanyeol followed Baekhyun as he walked through the long corridor, the stench long gone and yet unease grows in his heart, mind highly on alert for any possible danger. 

The corridor wasn’t wide per se but it wasn’t narrow either. The light from outside was starting to filter in albeit very little. The endless corridor had door after door lining its walls and Chanyeol would be lying if he didn’t admit it felt similar to a horror film set, the surroundings eery and Baekhyun’s breakdown moment before plaguing Chanyeol’s mind.

“Baekhyun-ah,” he calls, hand reaching out to take a hold of said male’s. “What are we looking for?”

“I…I’ll tell you later, for now… just try watching out for any laboratories.”

Chanyeol considered pressing for more but decided against it. He couldn’t afford Baekhyun to have another breakdown.

“Ok, …then can you be more specific about what I’m searching for? I can’t look around if I don’t know what I am looking for…”

“Orbs, anything circular, egg-like and machinery, especially gun like ones.” Baekhyun guided, crouching down and removing a piece of cement as if there might be anything important there. When he found nothing, he stood up, sighed and without any words carried on walking deeper.

Chanyeol, too, sighed and followed behind, feeling helpless at the suspenseful atmosphere surrounding them. Whatever progress they made in the past few months seems non-existent, Baekhyun barely making a sound since his sudden breakdown.

‘It will be fine, he’s just shaken.’ Is all Chanyeol could think as he stared at the other’s back, a nauseous feeling creeping up his spine.

Chanyeol doesn’t know when but at some point in their cautious walk through the long corridor, the nauseous feeling turned into something more. Something… bewitching. The feeling was what could be described as a disguised call, enchanting and pulling him in, somewhere far away from reality and in a trance where all his senses shut down on themselves and the primal need to follow the pull was growing. It was all so sudden, so unexpected that he dismissed it at first, thinking it was a headache caused by the odour they had come through a few hours before.

The nauseous feeling didn’t go away even after an hour. instead nagged at Chanyeol, relentlessly pulling him toward  _ somewhere, something. _ Unable to understand the confusing feelings in his gut, the same instincts that were screaming before to get out, now pushing him much deeper in the labyrinth, Chanyeol strayed behind and mind swimming. He was hypnotized-or at least very near it- the mysterious pull relentlessly seducing him to give in to the urge to abandon Baekhyun and follow  _ it. _

And… 

Chanyeol was only human.

A fantastic opportunity presented itself when the two found themselves at the mouth of another corridor. This time, however, the corridor split in two, leading opposite ways.

Baekhyun paused. Considered his options and then turned to Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s head buzzed, the hypnotizing feeling enchanting him, calling him slowly, encapturing him.

He saw Baekhyun open his mouth, the buzzing in his head grew, getting louder and louder and he was barely able to hear what Baekhyun was saying.

It was as if subconsciousness was searching for this moment and so when Baekhyun hesitantly asked him if they should stay together or split up, without even processing what was coming out of his mouth, he suggested splitting up, somehow making up an excuse of saving time in his haze.

He saw Baekhyun frown from somewhere far in his mind as if the male wasn’t only a metre away. He saw Baekhyun assess him before he shrugged, patted his shoulder and told him to be careful and went down one of the corridors.

The haze lightened and yet the pull became irresistible and so Chanyeol sighed and resigned to the nagging, following it down the other corridor.

He walked down the hallway, following the pull and let it guide him to be where it wants him. Maybe it was the pull’s influence or maybe it was just that damn headache but Chanyeol never thought to question the situation. It felt natural. Something like déjà vu.

He walked past a room and instantly the throbbing increased once again- it felt like a hammer was being smashed into his head and Chanyeol didn’t appreciate this.

“Okay, okay, stop.” He mumbled to himself as if the pull was a person, “I am returning, I am- just… just leave my head alone.” He whispered to himself as he backtracked and went in front of the room.

‘Should I go in?’ he thought to himself, ‘Should I call for Baekhyun?’

It was as if there was a person inside his head, whispering and prodding at him to just open the door and go in. just to escape the throbbing in his head he pushed the door, the rotten metal groaning at the force and yet remaining stuck in place.

He tried once again. And again. The door didn’t budge so in a final attempt he moved back and with all his might kicked the door, grunting at the pain that shot down his leg; at least the door opened.

He took a moment to recover from the pain in his leg, wincing as his head buzzed-the throbbing in his head getting extreme. He took a deep breath and willed the throbbing down before peeking inside the dim lit room, careful of any potential danger.

When he had determined there was no danger, he stepped in the room, gaze sweeping across the abandoned machinery curiously. Feeling brave he reached out and touched one of the machines, feeling the surface of the material.

He considered calling for Baekhyun, knowing the male will have more knowledge about the machines and remembering the other’s instruction of looking for machines.

In the end, he decided to look around alone and only call the other if he finds something worthy of analysis. Noticing the almost intact state of the room compared to the info-structure it resides inside, he cautiously advanced toward the walls, reminding himself of how Baekhyun had analyzed them. When he put his hand on the wall in front of him, the first thing he noticed was the warmth.

‘Strange,’ he thought to himself, ’the room is freezing but the wall… why is it so warm?’

He inspected further, almost tumbling once he noticed strange insignias decorating the otherwise white wall.

Each was varied in shape, each unique. He hadn’t noticed the pull toning down until his eyes fell on a symbol that represented a bird. The pull  _ burned _ ; it was so strong that a pained whine escaped Chanyeol’s lips. The pain seared his mind, the pull’s hypnotising effect back in action.

_ Go to it… Go Chanyeol…touch it…  _

The more he stared at the bird, the more it became more realistic, the pull becoming unbearable to ignore. He reached out to the mark, fingers barely grazing its outlines, but the shock that coursed through his body pulled him toward it. It was as if his body had a mind of its own as it moved closer to the symbols, hand going flat on the bird.

A Phoenix, he realized belatedly. The bird was a phoenix and his hand  _ burned _ . It felt as if it had been caught on fire and before he realized he was pounding on the wall, unknowingly trying to break the wall- somehow knowing there is something valuable hidden behind it.

When his hands had no effect, he picked up a piece of metal, belonging probably to one of the machines. The continued hitting the wall, mind blank and riding on instinct.

When the first crack appeared, a hand wrapped around his, a voice calling him from far away and he barely had the time to register the voice before darkness gripped him and he fell on a familiar pair of arms.

The first thing he hears when he comes to is Baekhyun’s familiar voice calling his name, shaky and breathy. It sounds desperate, Chanyeol thinks, mind still half unconscious. 

“Chanyeol, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun calls, shaking him and clutching his shirt. “God damn it, Chanyeol please wake up!”

Chanyeol hums, flailing slightly and freezing when he hears a sob escape Baekhyun’s lips. He forces his eyes open, finding Baekhyun’s teary but relieved ones.

“Baekhyun-ah?” He is surprised at how hoarse his voice sound, any sound barely coming out. He winces as he moves his hand up to Baekhyun’s face, palm cupping his jaw. His eyes widen as the other male lets out a sob, clutching the hand.

The male looks inconsolable, frightened and shaken to the core. They remain silent for a few moments. Silence envelopes them except one or two sniffles from Baekhyun as he calms himself.

Chanyeol lies on Baekhyun’s lap with his eyes closed, recollecting the events from earlier. After a while, Baekhyun breaks the quiet, voice tight and hoarse,

“What were you thinking? What were you  _ doing? _ ” 

Chanyeol keeps his eyes shut, sighing, “I don’t know… I really don’t. It was when we came out of the odour…My head was hurting…and I don’t know, there was something- a voice in my head…it was whispering, seducing in a way, hypnotizing me to go  _ somewhere _ .”

“And? What does that have to do with the way you were smashing machines after machines against the walls?”

“What?” Chanyeol coughed, “What do you mean?”

“I heard banging noises when I was on the other trail and I thought you had landed yourself in trouble, so I came running…”

“I don’t remember anything slightly dangerous…There was nothing in the room except unused machinery…”

“Well I don’t know what you did but you were bloodying your hand there, hitting the wall like a crazed man!” Baekhyun snapped, frowning. The confused look on Chanyeol’s face, however, made him continue in a quieter, calmer voice.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened? What is the last thing you remember?”

“I…” Chanyeol furrowed his brows, forehead creasing, “I don’t remember… everything is hazy… it like I know what I was doing but… it wasn’t me who was initially doing it…”

“What are you saying?”

“Can I have some water first please?” Chanyeol requested, ”My throat is parched… ”

Baekhyun sighed and got the backpack from his shoulders, passing the almost empty water bottle to the other. Chanyeol finished the water in seconds, 

“Thanks…”He coughed and Baekhyun sighed.

“You big baby…” Baekhyun scolded, patting the other on his back, “How many times have I told you not to drink water like that?”

“Sorry, mom…” Chanyeol’s grumble earns a burst of playful laughter out of Baekhyun as he slaps the other’s arm, feigning offence. “Okay, okay, sorry… jeez.”

“Dare says that again and I’ll chop you up.”

Just like that, the sombre mood is lifted; both males laugh together, forgetting matters at hand just for a moment.

“Now tell me,” Baekhyun demands once he deems everything okay and the panic has depleted. “Everything. From the beginning, in  _ full _ detail.”

Chanyeol sighs, closing his eyes to try to recollect any of the events earlier, “Well… I honestly don’t know… one second we were walking through the disgusting smell and as soon as the smell dissipated…my head started to hurt… just like that; out of nowhere…”

“And?” Baekhyun presses, impatient.

“And… at first, I thought it was because of the change in the density of the air, so I didn’t say anything… it happens quite often. I’m sensitive to sound and smell so it didn’t surprise me… but…” Chanyeol quietens for a moment, frowning.

“But it kept getting worse the closer we came in this direction… It sounds really weird I know but the further we came in this direction the worse my headache got…and then I started hearing a voice in my head… It didn’t sound like a normal voice…it… it was hypnotizing and alluring…”

At that Baekhyun’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping slightly, he asked, incredulous, “ _ What? _ ”

“I know, I know…” Chanyeol winced, “It sounds like fiction… but it’s true… the voice was absolutely unearthly… and it put me in a haze, letting me keep coming in this direction and then… when we finally reached the part where the corridor split into two, it became unbearable, completely engulfing rational thinking and it told me to separate from you and come in this direction…” he looked at Baekhyun’s disbelieving gaze and continued,

“And when I entered this room,” he motioned his hands vaguely, pointing out the room, “It lightened… and then I looked at the wall…and the symbols carved in it…and then when I looked at the Phoenix…” he pointed to the symbol, “I lost it… it just… I don’t remember anything after that…and then I woke up and you were here.”

“Believe me,” he whined, “I’m telling the absolute truth, I swear!”

Baekhyun remained silent, wide eyes trained on the wall. Chanyeol at first thought he was being doubtful, but the look on the other’s face screamed something else. He looked horror-stricken, then furious and then his face contorted in fear.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol shook him, panicking at the lack of response from the other, “Hey, hey Baek. Hello!” He repeated muttered, cupping the other’s face and forcing his eyes away from the wall and toward his own. “Baekhyun?”

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun breathed finally, earning a relieved sigh from the other but the fear in his voice made Chanyeol frown.

“Baekhyun, what happened?”

“We... we need to break the wall…”

“What? Why?”

“This… this entire building… it isn’t a station or anything like that…it’s- it was a research facility…”

“So? I mean earth also has research-”

“No!” Baekhyun yelled, “It wasn’t just  _ any  _ research facility! The scientists here held captive of wielders!”

Chanyeol’s confused expression made Baekhyun continue, the hands rubbing his waist comforting him, “Wielders are those who have powers… people like me…In Mars, unlike what Earthians think, not everyone wields powers… we are only a minority and where we get our power… _ why _ do we have them is a great opportunity for new research… this power thing… it wasn’t always there, it only appeared some millennia years ago after some of our astronauts returned from an expedition.”

“At first everyone thought it was because of something to do with radiation they had after being exposed to it for over 3 years and it became a popular field to research in…then they realized that despite other astronauts having the same exposure to radiation, none of them developed any power; however, the descendants of those who returned with the powers at first attained similar powers…and then the descendants of them… 

“It seemed that it is only passed down by genes so everyone thought it was some sort of gene mutation but when they actually checked, their genes had nothing different, nothing abnormal that could indicate the mutations…and we- people were discriminated against after the surprise and awe wore off…”

“The six Earthian astronauts who accompanied the Martian astronauts also developed similar powers…Earth, however, unlike Mars didn’t take the mutation lightly and that was one of the main reasons that Earth and Mars became enemies… But you wouldn’t learn about it because unlike Mars, the powers didn’t get passed on and the governments removed the incident from the face of the earth, leaving Martians seeming like aliens and somehow they managed to corrupt everyone’s opinion on Mars and well you know the consequences.”

“Tell me everything Baekhyun.” Chanyeol breathed, “ _ Everything about this. _ ”

“It’s a long story… Maybe once we go back home I’ll tell you everything but in short… A team of Earthian and Martian scientists banded together to create the research facility and it…at first it was good…giving pretty accurate hypothesizes on this entire incredulity. Then wielders began to disappear, vanishing from Earth and in Mars… the situation got so bad that the government issued an entire institution for us…where we could learn about controlling our powers and remain safe… and then employed us in armed forces…

“We were like… the Avengers truth be told, we will keep the society safe in exchange for food and daily necessities and well as a safe place…we became normal and the disappearances stopped… later we learned that we were being taken in so they could conduct research on us.”

“That’s… horrible.” Chanyeol grimaced and Baekhyun nodded solemnly.

“I will tell you everything but these symbols… these are symbols of wielders…which mean these walls are hiding something… when our powers…” Baekhyun reached in his shirt, bringing out a glowing orb. “These are our power orbs… when the situation got bad, scientists figured out a way to contain the powers in these so if someone who doesn’t want it… they can be sent to research facilities for their- whatever research they might conduct.”

“When a power orb is contained, it leaves a scar, a mark,” Baekhyun said, lifting his shirt so Chanyeol could see the symbol etched on his right pectoral. His eyes widened when he saw one of the symbols from the wall tattooed on the other’s skin.

“It doesn’t matter what the orb is contained in… for some reason, yet to be discovered it always leaves the mark.”

“So you think these orbs will be contained in the walls?”

Baekhyun nods, “If they were removed, the marks would slowly disappear.”

“So… how do we do this?”

Baekhyun grinned, “Stand back, and watch.”

Chanyeol stood at a distance, eyes wide and mouth gaping as Baekhyun blasted balls of light one after another at the walls, both hand busy with the explosions. Chanyeol can’t deny the waves of awe that course through him as he watches Baekhyun.

The wielder looks ethereal and so graceful, Chanyeol feels an unknown feeling nudge his heart. With his right hand, Baekhyun blasts a ball of light toward the wall while the other creates a thin shield in front of the said wall so the heat and power don’t damage the precious orbs.

Chanyeol, in midst of being completely hypnotized by the other’s graceful movement, doesn’t register the throb in his head, not until it’s a nagging persistent feeling.

Without registering his movements, Chanyeol makes his way toward the wall that had just been blasted away. His gaze falls upon a red orb, bright and calling- it’s as if the orb is beckoning him to come closer, to pick it up. Without any further thought, Chanyeol does just that and the moment he picks up the orb, an unknown and mysterious yet familiar feeling grasps him and he can’t help but let out a slight gasp.

It feels like a long journey has ended and he’s  _ home _ . Oh, how much it feels like home. He doesn’t hear Baekhyun’s confused voice or his steps as he comes toward him. All he could focus on is the orb in his hand, the feeling of home enveloping him and-

A panicked screech finally breaks him out of his reverie, the trance breaking in an instant. He looks up only for his vision to be hindered by hues of red, orange and yellow. Beyond it, he spies shock and fear etched on Baekhyun’s face. The male stares at him, eyes the size of saucers, mouth gaping at the shocking revelation.

“Chanyeol…” he breathes, voice awed and shocked, barely a whisper, “Chanyeol, Oh my- Chanyeol, are you ok?”

“Ah… yeah…I-I’m fine.”

“Put the orb down please…”

“But-”

“Listen to me!” Baekhyun’s frantic voice makes him put the orb back on the table where Baekhyun had put it when he got it out of the wall. 

“Do you… Chanyeol have you got any idea what just happened?” Baekhyun yells as soon as the orb is out of his hand, closing the short distance between them and grabbing his shoulders, “Do you have any clue about who you are?” Baekhyun sounds overjoyed, Chanyeol realizes. He sounds scared and yet his voice is underlined with absolute joy.

Chanyeol could only raise a confused brow at Baekhyun.

“You- you are a wielder!”

“Baek, stop joking… ”

“I am not! You dumb giant, you were just on fire like a second ago and despite that you are unharmed, and the fire came from the orb in the first place, explain that, dumb Mr I-am-not-a-wielder.” There was no offence in Baekhyun’s voice, only exasperation.

“Well-”  Chanyeol quietened, “I don’t know! How can I be a wielder?”

“I don’t know either, but there isn’t any possible explanation for this except that you are a wielder, orbs don’t react to anyone other than their wielder…”

“So…now I’m a fire wielder?”

“Yes!” Baekhyun exclaimed smiling brightly.

“I can’t believe this…Ok wow, I did not expect today to turn out like this but now that it has… what’s our plan?” Chanyeol asked, voice plain before the revelation dawned on him and he squealed, “So how do I blast fireballs out of my hands? This has been my dream!”

“Calm yourself, Yeol, you can’t just throw fireballs now that you are revealed to be a wielder.”

Chanyeol’s whine earned him a loud laugh as Baekhyun petted him, “Please, I wanted to be a superhero my whole life.”

“You need to train yourself first. You need to learn how to control the power and everything. But first, help me collect all of the orbs and let’s go back home.”

Chanyeol’s shoulders drooped as he pouted and helped an exasperated Baekhyun collect all the orbs from where they were laid down during their excavation. 

“Why is there so many? It looks like thousands!”

Baekhyun sighed, frowning slightly, “I don’t know…there’s too many here and I know for a fact that barely anyone has ever disowned their power so… I don’t know…”

Chanyeol nodded in understanding, “Don’t worry about this now…We’ll figure something out.”

“Yeah… I have had enough stress for today.”

Despite wanting to go back home, eventually, the two males decided to rest and then begin their journey back to their base early morning. Thankfully their night was spent without any further problem and the two was able to be on their way after the sun rose.

Chanyeol expected a lot of things to happen once they are back home but what he absolutely  _ didn’t _ think of was Baekhyun pulling him down on the bed and wrapping his arms around him as he went to sleep. They haven’t even changed or refreshed themselves yet.

“Erm…Baek?” Chanyeol called, slightly nudging the other who seemed dead to the world.

“Hush!” the other murmured, burrowing himself further in Chanyeol, “I have been waiting for this sleep since we left. Let me have it.”

“Sure?” Chanyeol replied, “But why are you wrapped around me like this? At least let me freshen up.”

“You are a clumsy foal, Yeol! If I let you freshen up, I’m guaranteed zero sleep so just be quiet and rest with me.”

Chanyeol’s protests died on his lips when Baekhyun pinched his waist and gave him a sleepy glare- which was more like a plead than anything.

“Fine! But I’m showering first once we wake up.”

“Yes, now shut up and sleep,” Baekhyun grumbled before he let sleep overtake him. Chanyeol laughed quietly as he stared at the other and counted the 40 puppy whines that indicate Baekhyun has fallen in sleep’s clutches before he too closed his eyes.

It turns out Baekhyun is a little piece of shit because when Chanyeol woke up from the restful sleep, the other was already occupying the bathroom. 

“Baekhyun you promised! Get out now, it always takes you a billion years in there and I really gotta pee…” Baekhyun laughed from the other side as Chanyeol pounded on the door, dignity forgotten, “Stop laughing, and get out!”

“One sec!” calls Baekhyun, voice stifled with laughter. “I think Sehun sent a message, by the way, check it while I’m in here.”

“Oh, God…” Chanyeol whined, stomping on the ground childishly while Baekhyun giggled. “Get out in 5 or I’ll break the door.” He warned before going over to the setup communicator.

His eyes widened when he saw the spam of messages from Earth and he immediately pulled the device to his bed, sitting down and scrolling through the messages. Most of them were Sehun being a nagging mother but one message caught his attention. It was sent the day Baekhyun and he started their mission.

He scanned through the message, shock coursing through his body and joy- the joy he felt when he read the last line; he let out a yelp, jumping on his feet.

“What?”

“Yah!” cried Chanyeol, freezing for a second and clutching his chest, “You scared me!”

“Well.” Baekhyun raised a brow, unimpressed, “Scaredy cat.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes before he returned to his joyful state, the words of the message sinking in, “Baekhyun-ah!” he cried, bouncing to the confused male. “You wouldn’t believe this!”

Baekhyun, used to the other’s antics only shrugged, asking the other of what happened as he dried his hair; however when the news was finally relayed to him he froze, eyes widening and ready to scold the other for his prank, though when he looked at the other, the joy on his face proved the truth of his words.

“You…you are not joking, are you?” he asked, careful to not get his hopes up.

“Of course not! Look at the message!” Chanyeol yelled, thrusting the phone in Baekhyun’s face, “We are going home!”

It took Baekhyun a few moments to process the information and let it sink in before he jumped, mouth curving into the brightest smile, “W-we are! We are going home, oh my, we are going home!”

“We are!” Chanyeol replied- well  _ squealed _ , opening in arms and without hesitance catching Baekhyun when the male willingly falls into them. Baekhyun wraps his own arms around the taller, burrowing his wet hair in the other’s neck and letting out a scream of his own.

“Chanyeol we are going home! Finally, we are returning home.” Unbeknownst to him, Baekhyun tears up, crying in the other’s chest at the overflow of emotions, “Finally, I’m going to see my idiots again.”

Chanyeol doesn’t comment on the tears for he too was weeping his heart out, clutching the other closer and burrowing his face in the shorter’s hair, “We are Baekhyunnie, we are.”

After the two had calmed down and the onslaught of emotions has finally stopped, they stand wrapped around each other, basking in the happiness the other is emitting. After a while, however, the moment is broken when Baekhyun lifts his head up and with a raised brow and teasing smile asks the other a seemingly innocent question.

“Don’t you need to pee anymore, Chanyeollie?” he grins, yet only winds his arms tighter around the other. As if Chanyeol remembers, he squeezes his legs together, twisting in Baekhyun’s tight grasp, eyes wide comically and begging the other to let him go. Baekhyun teases him a bit more, not letting the other out of his embrace. As the other’s desperation reaches its peak, Baekhyun releases him and laughs from behind as the other stumbles in the toilet, barely closing the door.

“Your face, Chanyeollie!”

“Shut up you mean midget,” Chanyeol replies, earning an insulted gasp but no further comment as the other leaves for the kitchen.

“Where were you for the past week? I have to try to contact you for ages but there weren’t any replies!” Is the first thing Chanyeol hears, Sehun’s voice accusatory. 

“Ah sorry, Baekhyun and I were excavating the Martian stations for the past week, so I wasn’t here to receive any of your calls,” Chanyeol explains smiling sheepishly.

“Well did you find anything?”

“Yeah!” Chanyeol smiles brightly, “You wouldn’t believe what!”

“What is it? Some secret room with all Martian secrets?”

“Nope,” Chanyeol is unbelievably giddy, “Something even more amazing!”

“Come on Yeol, tell me already.” Sehun whines, pout forming on his lips, “We don't have much time left before I need to cut off.”

“It's Yeol hyung for you, rude kid.”

Sehun rolls his eyes, “Fine then Yeol hyung, can you tell me already? You know I hate being put off.”

“Okay, okay!” Chanyeol giggles, “I am a fire wielder!” The exclamation doesn’t seem to have much effect on the younger male as he stares through the screen, indifference clear in his poker face.

“Hello?” Chanyeol calls after getting no response after a moment, “Did you hear me?”

“Yes I did and right now I’m wondering if our century-old friendship is worth me listening to you sprouting out the rubbish when we barely have the time and technology to connect.”

That pulls a frown out of Chanyeol as he pouts, offended. “I am not kidding! I  _ am  _ a fire wielder.”

“Chan-”

“He is telling the truth,” Comes Baekhyun’s voice, much gentler and persuasive than the taller. “We recently found out and I’m going to train him so he doesn’t cause any hazard with his clumsiness.”

“See?” Chanyeol exclaims, “I wasn’t lying. Baekhyun, come here and say hi to Sehunnie!”

A second later Baekhyun’s tuft of brown hair pops up on the screen as he grins the brightest of grins and with a slightly affectionate voice acknowledges the male on the other side of the screen, “Hey Sehun! I have heard a lot about you, Nice to see you finally!”

Sehun stays mute, mouth wide open and eyes bulging as he takes in the light wielder. After a while, he finds his voice only to murmur a soft, “What the fuck? How are you so pretty; Chanyeol are you sure he’s real or did your idiocy get to me as well?”

“Hey!” Chanyeol reprimands before he pulls a blushing Baekhyun closer to him by his shoulders, sporting a winning grin, “I’m gonna ignore that and only focus on the good things. He’s the prettiest, isn’t he?” 

Sehun narrows his eyes, scanning at the two people he is watching through a screen, “Chanyeol…you finally found your angel, congrats.”

Baekhyun’s blush deepens before he excuses himself meekly, tips of his ears flushing brightly. As soon as Baekhyun’s shadow disappears, Chanyeol throws a weak glare at Sehun, “I don’t like him like that! He’s …

“Just a friend who makes you look like a proud lover as if you scored the best treasure?”

“Why are you even holding onto something I said once when I was 17…” he hissed, frowning while Sehun just laughed.

“Fine. Fine, I won’t but… are you sure you are a wielder?”

“Yes, God!” Chanyeol rolled his eyes, “I literally went up in flames back in the buildings.”

“Really?” Sehun’s eyes shine in glee, “What are you gonna do about this revelation now?”

“Baekhyun is going to train me and teach me how to control my fire, after that, I don’t know… maybe when I return home I can be like the iron man of the 31 st century and launch my own Marvel. Did you know Mars has superhero squads to protect their cities and towns?”

“Wow... Mars really be living their superhero fantasies huh?” Sehun grumbled; it was a known fact that Sehun was the biggest fan of any superhero franchise. Except for Batman, that guy looks sketchy.

“Anyway, was your message true? Are we really going home?”

“Oh good you reminded me,” Sehun said, poker face in place however the twinkle in his eyes promised good news, “A year ago…err… in the earth at least, Mars finally agreed to cooperate with earth and NASA and SpaceX launched an emergency project to rescue you two and when I sent you the first message was the day the rocket finally finished. In the week we have been reviewing astronauts who could be part of the mission and honestly, it’s just a show for the media…”

“What do you mean?”

“I think you know that there is no way that me, Jun and Soo wouldn’t be on that rocket and in Mars… well, Baekhyun’s friends didn’t even let the stations review any other candidate except themselves. I’m in Saturn right now for an intergalactic meeting and the chosen candidates from both planets are travelling here today to have our first meeting and discuss the mission and send a detailed plan to the Intergalactic Astronaut Association. We are planning to leave within a month and a half and it will take us 30 earth years to reach you without any wielding aid.”

“Anything we can do here then?” Chanyeol asks after Sehun has finished with his overview.

“To reduce the risk of another mishap in the L-1485, I suggest you map out the area of the place where you are living and give us an estimated landing reference with the area being remote and desolated.”

“Will do.” Chanyeol nods, “Now then, I gotta go because Baekhyun’s finished cooking and I am starving.”

“Sure, by-”

“Oh, can I ask you for a favour?”

“Yes?”

“When you meet the Martian astronauts, give me a call…Baekhyun hasn’t seen his friends in ages and I am sure he’ll be ecstatic to even have a message from them.” Chanyeol requests and sees Sehun smile before the line is cut off.

When he enters the kitchen after putting the equipment back, Baekhyun is humming a song while writing something in his journal.

“What are you doing?”

“Working out your training schedule.” Baekhyun replies, still focused on the task in hand, “Heat up the food, I am starving, let’s eat.”

Chanyeol does as he is told, the room filled with a harmonious silence.

“There you go,” Chanyeol puts the bowl of food in front of Baekhyun, sitting down opposite the other male, “Hey?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you mind telling me about the research facility? Sehun is planning on stealing some files out of our intergalactic archive to bring with him to us…Anything I can pass on will help.”

“Sure,” Baekhyun gulps down a spoon of his soup before he began, “Well if I am being honest, I don’t know much either…If anyone is an expert in this its Kris and Lay.”

“Huh?”

“My friends,” Baekhyun explains, “There is no way that they are not the team being sent from Mars because they are the top astronauts in SpaceX. Also, they’ll rather get deployed than not snatch the chance to see me again.”

“I see… but Mars wouldn’t want to share such confidential information with Earthians, would they?”

“As long as you pass on what we found here, nothing can stop Lay from getting the files. Anyways, we don’t believe in the conflict between the two planets…they will get along well if your friends accept mine without any judgment.”

“Of course they would, they are adaptable.” Chanyeol replies, “Now, what have you figured out about my training schedule?”

“First you need to learn to get used to the power… it will always be there, a light pricking under your skin, however, once you get used to it, you wouldn’t feel much of it, so tomorrow after breakfast I’ll let you pick a fire orb and you’ll absorb it…the process is short and after you get used to the feeling I’ll show you how to control it.”

“I am so tired, can I sleep longer tomorrow please?”

“Same… my head is bursting…let’s go to sleep early tonight, we don’t have much to do anyway.”

Chanyeol hummed, cleaning up the table while Baekhyun went to the main chamber to fix their beds.

After a much needed, well-deserving sleep, the two of them wake up when the sun- 1485’s sun- is high up in the sky. Feeling lazy, a silent agreement is reached as Baekhyun tumbles out of his bed and crawls into Chanyeol’s, the other extending his blanketed arm for Baekhyun to snuggle into. The other male does just that, pushing his face in Chanyeol’s chest and wrapping his arms around the taller’s waist before he drifts into sleep again. Without a single word, Chanyeol smiles and follows Baekhyun.

The next time they wake up it is afternoon and despite their reluctance, their grumbling stomachs drag them out of the bed and out of the comfortable bubble of contentment. After the much-needed breakfast, Chanyeol is jittery as Baekhyun brings a set of 15 fire orbs out for him to choose from. Baekhyun has assured him a million times-reminding him again and again that as a fire wielder, it doesn’t matter what orb he chooses as long as the orb is one of fire.

As Chanyeol reaches for an orb after much self-assurance, Baekhyun gives him an encouraging smile, prompting him to finally lift the brightest one up in his hand. Instantly Chanyeol’s entire body lights up, flames puffing out of him. Among the fascination and slight panic, he hears Baekhyun’s calm voice guiding him.

As per Baekhyun’s instruction, Chanyeol takes a deep breath feeling the scorching heat enter his mouth and despite his fear, the fire does nothing but soothes his nerves.

“Now push it in your chest, Yeol…it will absorb it, don’t be afraid, the flames wouldn’t hurt you.”

Another deep breath and then Chanyeol is lifting his shirt and pushing the orb in his left pectoral. The orb glides inside his skin easily, warming his skin for a moment before it reduces to a shimmering feeling under his skin.

It feels like something missing has been finally found again, Chanyeol registers, mind still hazed by the red flames.

One more minute or so and the flames disappear leaving a flickering sensation on his arms and body.

Baekhyun lets Chanyeol have his moment before he speaks up, “See how easy it was? You were being tense for no reason.” Chanyeol breaks out of his stupor, dark hair changing its colour to a dark crimson, and gives Baekhyun a broad grin, 

“It feels like I have found something missing and god, I feel so amazing right now!”

“Come now, you should drink some water, your body is overheating right now and you need as much water as possible, I’ll fix you a cold bath too.”

Chanyeol obeys, still mesmerized by his new ability to say anything and Baekhyun just laughs at his star-struck expression.

Chanyeol easily got used to his new lifestyle that included early morning runs, cold showers and a lot of meditation. He also got used to the strict side of Baekhyun, who despite being a ruthless trainer, compensated with fixing him cold baths to prevent him from overheating and late night cuddles.

The cuddles might be the best part of his new found power. Baekhyun’s low body heat perfectly meshes with Chanyeol newly rising one. 

Late at night when words are hard to find and sleep is a faraway thought, when the years of loneliness finally grab a hold of him, Chanyeol is cradled in Baekhyun’s comforting arms; the shorter making him feel better in an instant.

When Baekhyun’s smile slips off when his brightness dims…it’s Chanyeol who embraces the other, sharing comfort through his warmer temperature. Perhaps it’s because of the assurance of Baekhyun’s experience as a wielder, or maybe its Chanyeol’s ability to finally relate to Baekhyun with similar supernatural abilities but Chanyeol feels himself getting more and more attached to the other male. He still has to decide if it’s a good or bad thing- now that they will be going back to their respective home planets after a few more years, is it really worth getting so emotionally invested in this companionship of theirs? Despite the thousands of uncertainties plaguing his mind, Chanyeol finds himself unable to distance himself from the other.

Three days after Chanyeol talked to Sehun, he had called him again-this time for Baekhyun. The moment Baekhyun had seen the blurry face of his teary-eyed friends, his  _ brothers _ , he had wept. Chanyeol wasn’t sure, standing aside to give Baekhyun some time with his friends if he should comfort the other. He decided on giving the shorter a pat on the shoulder, hoping that was calming enough. 

After Baekhyun calmed down the slightest, finally speaking coherently, he had talked for hours with the three males on the other side of the screen.  About what, Chanyeol had no idea for Baekhyun was only speaking in Martian, completely disregarding everything that is not the screen containing his friends. Hours and hours went on, the light wielder never ceasing to talk, eyes bright and shining.

Finally when Sehun had taken the device out of a pissed of who Chanyeol supposes is the infamous Jongdae, Baekhyun had looked up and given him such a smile, so unlike the other beaming ones he had been in the receiving end of, Chanyeol’s knees turned to jelly, his breath snatched and heart thundering and roaring in chest. 

Later that night, Baekhyun had crawled in his bed, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s middle and leaning on his chest. Chanyeol had remained quiet, rubbing the other’s shoulder as to say there is no need for gratefulness, as his friend that was the least he could do. That night the two had slept a peaceful sleep, wrapped around each other, feeling the bond between them invisibly deepen.

“Let’s end today here,” Baekhyun pants, “Well done, I can see your improvements.”

Chanyeol collapsed as soon as the words left Baekhyun’s mouth, spreading his limbs on the green grass as he caught his breath. He closed his eyes, feeling his body cooling slowly as his flames faded.

“Do you want me to fix you a bath?” Baekhyun asks after a while, gulping down water from his bottle, “Or do you want me to fix you something to eat?”

“It's fine,” Chanyeol replies, eyes still closed as his hands blindly reach for his own water bottle, “It’s quite windy today, I don’t think I need cold water to cool down today.”

“Okay,” Baekhyun follows Chanyeol’s example, lying down and spreading his own limbs like a starfish. “Let’s rest for a while…” he mumbled, eyes droopy with tiredness. He moves closer to the taller, curling up at his side and sighing at the warmth he gives out. Then he’s out like a light.

Chanyeol laughs silently to himself, turning to Baekhyun’s sleeping figure and staring at the other’s peaceful expression. He must be very tired if his insomniac self can fall asleep so quickly. Deciding he doesn’t have anything better to do, he decides to follow the older, wrapping an arm around Baekhyun and pulling him close, aware that Baekhyun gets cold very easily. He buries his face in the other’s hair and then he too, is out in an instant, the tiredness of the day’s training catching up.

Later when they wake up, the sun is already set and the sky is littered with billions of stars. The two dare not speak, preferring the silent companionship rather than a conversation. They don’t know how long they lied on the ground and stared at the vast expanse of twinkling lights, mesmerized at how clearly they can see each star without the lack of pollution caused by factories or transportation.

Somehow while watching the sky, Baekhyun became Chanyeol’s focus, the taller staring at his side profile, without speaking a word.

“What?” Baekhyun asks after a while of indulging the other, turning his body so he’s lying sideways and facing the taller.

“You know…” Chanyeol whispers, unwilling to break the precious quietness, “You look like a star…glowing just the same and looking similarly enthralling…”

Baekhyun giggles, hand reaching out to hold the other’s cheek as he moves closer, “Do I now? Am I just as interesting as these fascinating light bearers?”

Chanyeol returns his smile, own hand closing around Baekhyun’s, “Even more so…you are a star child…just as bright as a star.”

“Hmm…” Baekhyun replies, playing with the taller’s hair, “You are a phoenix then…the…the fiercest of all…”

They stare at each other, taking in each other- their saving grace in the uninhabited micro-cosmos. Words aren’t necessary when Baekhyun’s forehead makes contact with Chanyeol’s, or when their breaths mingle and their hands intertwine. 

“Thank you,” Chanyeol speaks quietly, tilting his head up so his eyes meet Baekhyun’s, “Without you…I would’ve never found myself…”

Chanyeol watches as Baekhyun closes his eyes, lips curving up in a grin, “You too, thank you…for saving me; without you, I am not sure if I would’ve been able to cope with the loneliness…and…thank you for letting me see my brothers… ”

Chanyeol wraps his arms around Baekhyun, closing whatever gap there is between their bodies, tucking Baekhyun’s head in his neck as he buries his face in the other’s nape, “No need; that was the least I could do… just a few more months and we’ll be home, we’ll be able to see and hug our brothers…”

Baekhyun nods slightly, silence overcoming them again. After a while he speaks again, voicing out a question that has been plaguing Chanyeol since the news of their “rescue mission” has reached them,

“What will happen to us once we go back, Chanyeol?”

“I don’t know…” Chanyeol replies truthfully, “There is no way I am cutting contacts with you…you are too important to me now…anyway we still need to figure out the mystery of this planet and those orbs we found …there is too much to find and only we can find them…”

Silence prevails again, before Chanyeol speaks, “This is something we should think about when the time comes…for now, let’s just enjoy this…let’s enjoy us for now.”

They remain tangled together until the sky starts to lighten and when their stomachs grumble loudly, they are forced to reluctantly get up and move into their humble abode. 

Chanyeol fixes them breakfast while Baekhyun prepares a bath for Chanyeol and freshen himself up. They eat together, the table filled with laughter and compressed excitement as they talk about their friends’ awaited arrival.

Another month passes as the two males busy themselves with honing their abilities as well as plan routes for the spacecraft that would carry them out of L-1485.

Sooner than expected an overly excited Sehun calls, rambling on and on about how they’ll be there to take them home in about 3 months before an annoyed Jongdae pushes him out of the screen and going on a rant of his own about how he’s fed up of these dumb humans they have to work with before a fed-up Minseok pulls his ear and reminds him that he too, is human.

That entire call was a mess, if Chanyeol had to describe it, the Earthians and Martians alike started a war as to who gets to talk to the two males on the other side. In the end, a furious Suho had taken the device away and in his private study with the leader of the Martian team before the two had given a detailed plan on what would happen in the mission. Baekhyun’s eyes had brightened when the Martian leader started speaking, his own voice soft and fond.

The leaders had suggested them to clear out an area closer to their base for the rocket’s landing and give them further instructions on searching the research facilities, explaining how they have huge information about the incident that took place on the planet before its demise. When asked the two had promised to tell them everything once they are face to face.

As requested, Chanyeol and Baekhyun went back to the burnt and destroyed establishments, conducting another search, conduction excavation on the areas they had left out and collecting any files and documents they can find. Then they had gone to where Baekhyun had lived before he met Chanyeol and collected anything that would aid them in solving the mystery of L-1485.

Before they knew it, months had passed. The teams from the Intergalactic Alliance had launched their mission a month ago, rocket now soaring toward the lonely planet to collect the stranded astronauts.

Though communication was hard, Sehun tried his best to contact the two to give them an update once in a while, now accompanied by Jongdae who for reasons never lets him talk. The reason? Still unknown, even to Jongdae.

The lonely wielders spend their time training themselves or scouting the planet as much as they can and at night, under the stars, singing and sharing laughter.

Sometimes in their wait, Chanyeol notices his habit of staring at the other. He could go on for hours looking at the other as he works around the spacecraft, or when he is doing…  _ anything _ really.

He doesn’t know when it started; one thing he can say with certainty is that being with Baekhyun feels something like home. The consistent tenderness, the solace and the warmth… all feel like home and Chanyeol is still unaware of what these feelings might be but he knows- he can’t lose Baekhyun. 

Chanyeol really can’t pinpoint where it started, it was as if one day he just woke up and realized how tangible the pull toward Baekhyun is. Chanyeol knows he still has to figure out the meaning behind this thread pulling them together, knows he still needs to figure out if its fondness for the male who rescued from the clutches of loneliness or is it… _ love _ … for the male who came into his life so unexpectedly and despite being suspected and hated on for the initial few months, never left him alone and instead with his bright smiles and cheerful attitude stole Chanyeol’s heart and hid it somewhere so hidden that Chanyeol can’t even bother himself to try and take it back.

Chanyeol knows they don’t have much time left so he closes down all his thoughts and prays to whatever God there is that a way will be enlightened. No matter what, Chanyeol can’t lose his light.

Baekhyun knows he’s dancing on a dangerous edge. He knows that their closeness- the tenderness he shares with Chanyeol is fueled by decades of loneliness.

He sees Chanyeol’s stares, his smile when Baekhyun is near and he knows there is the minimum chance they would still be in contact once they go back. He should probably save himself from the heartbreak that would eventually come and start distancing from the taller but… the warmth of Chanyeol’s arms is unparalleled.

Baekhyun knows he’s dancing on a dangerous edge. He knows that this…whatever this feeling means, it would end in nothing but heartache and longing. He knows he should start distancing himself from the taller, to save himself, he knows he should but the solace and content he finds in Chanyeol are addictive. Chanyeol is addictive.

He knows he should stop with his leading smiles and feeling joy when Chanyeol smiles. He knows he should stop with all the physical contact but the protection he feels in the taller’s embrace is something he can’t live without. He knows he should stop the other when things get too promising. He knows he should stop but Chanyeol’s smile, Chanyeol’s embrace, Chanyeol’s eyes, Chanyeol’s ideas; Chanyeol’s fascination… _ Chanyeol _ makes his heart so… _ so _ full Baekhyun wants to keep feeling it.

He thought falling in love would be butterflies in his stomach, sweaty palms and stuttering words. He thought love would be sudden; love would make fireworks burst in his mind.

But…falling for Chanyeol? It was easy, so easy and so natural that he didn’t realize why his heart feels like bursting when he looks at the other until the weight of his heart had crashed on him… so fast and so quick that Baekhyun didn’t have a say in the sudden overflow of love he felt, eyes meeting Chanyeol’s as the other shamelessly stared. He gave him a small smile, turning back to sorting the power orbs.

He knows the attraction is mutual. He knows there is an inevitable heartbreak coming his way but he can’t stop laughing when Chanyeol’s arms sneak around his middle, a soft tickle of a yellow flame touching his abdomen. He can’t stop the serenity he feels when the taller’s deep voice seeks for praise. So he stops thinking, hoping there would be more time so the two of them can grow in their own accord, as well as together. So he stops time and just enjoys the soft touch of Chanyeol’s palm on his shoulder, eyes closed.

_ There is no denying the onslaught of feelings and Baekhyun hopes it stops growing so their separation is a tad bit easier. _

_ He also knows it’s only a façade, a lie that he hopes would never partake in reality. _

As the day of their friends’ arrival closed in on the two, their excitement started fading, replaced with worry and doubts. Including their internal conflict with their feelings, their happiness that soared when they thought about returning home but also longing and grief as they thought of leaving this planet they had accepted as their home. Grief about going separate years after so much.

The feelings grew and grew, rising each day and making them feel suffocated…they knew they were nearing their breaking point and they hoped it would not cause their relationship to crumble.

Sleepless nights have become a norm now, both unable to sleep with thoughts plaguing their minds. Lying in bed, they toss and turn, huffing and sighing with each minute that passes without sleep coming to them.

Then it happens.

Baekhyun gets up to get some water and nothing is out of place until Chanyeol hears the shattering of glass and he jumps out of bed, all but trips-hurriedly making his way to the supposed ’kitchen.’

He sees Baekhyun clutching his ankle as he sits on the ground, head buried in his arms, surrounded by broken glass. Chanyeol feels panic rising as he quickly but carefully moves near Baekhyun and without any words, picks the other male up in his arms and moving back to their bedroom, putting him down, going to the bathroom, getting the emergency first aid kit out of the shelf and returning to Baekhyun. 

He could feel the breaking point approaching fast but he paid it no heed, pulling Baekhyun’s ankle out of his hold and checking if it was sprained. The loud wince that Baekhyun lets out… it makes his blood boil but he remains silent, slowly and carefully treating the injured ankle as Baekhyun bites his lips trying to keep moans of pain inside him.

After Chanyeol bandages the injury, he gets up to clean the glass in the kitchen only for Baekhyun to grasp his wrist and pulling him back. He meets the shorter’s teary eyes seeing hesitation yet hope in them, he sits down and pulls Baekhyun’s hand in his lap.

They remain like that for what seems like hours before Baekhyun speaks, voice restrained and constricted, “Chanyeol…I’m scared…”

Chanyeol looks up, watching the conflict in the other’s eyes, he sighs, rubbing what he hopes are soothing circles on his hand, “Why?” he asks, already knowing the answer before Baekhyun says, 

“It’s just…I haven’t seen my brothers for more than a century…and as happy as I am to see them, I am scared of the expectations it might bring…I have missed so much…Chen and Xiumin’s wedding, Yixing’s noble prize, Tao’s graduation and first intergalactic mission…Kris’ appointed as Mars representative… the birth of my nephew, Baekbeom’s funeral…I have missed so many things and I am scared that they will tell me something that would break me.”

“More than that, I am scared of going back to Mars, finding answers for my abandonment, this entire mystery surrounding the research facilities, the orbs…it makes me terrified…”

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything, can’t find anything to say so he lets Baekhyun continue.

“This planet, despite how much I have suffered here…became my home, my home with you… Do you realize that we might have ended the millennium worth of cold war between Earth and Mars? Once we go back, it would be huge, and there would be so many expectations on us…media, family, institutions, citizens….everyone would view us as celebrities, the duo who ended a millennium worth war…”

Chanyeol knows of Baekhyun’s fear of popularity; heard from all the stories Baekhyun has told him, he knows that despite the cheerful personality, Baekhyun is shy and had suffered from social anxiety for the better part of his childhood.

“I am just so scared of changes… I can’t ever take it well and that’s one of my greatest flaws,” Baekhyun lets out a choked laugh, “And…and we’d be a whole 3 months apart…I don’t want to lose you…I just- this- this whole thing was supposed to be happy and joyful for us, and I know how excited you are to return to Earth but…I don’t want to go back anymore…I want my brothers here, I don’t want to miss anything from their lives but I don’t want to go back to Mars, where I will be the only one in our shared dorm, now that Dae and Min moved out…I- I have had enough loneliness to last me lifetimes….I-” Baekhyun can’t stop the tears that well out of his eyes, sniffing and squeezing Chanyeol’s hands for strength.

“I have you here, you are like my best friend…you saved me when I was losing all hopes and- God this sounds so dramatic- and, I don’t want to lose you…I can’t afford to do that when all my life I have lost everyone I have loved…Jongdae and Minseok are the only ones I have left, they are my bestest friends…I know that nothing has probably changed between us but…I just have this irrational fear that we have grown apart…I mean they have a family now…they are  _ married _ and shares a bond that I can’t share with them…I am scared that they changed to someone that my oldest friends are only a shadow now… ”

Chanyeol still doesn’t have anything to say, heart, wrenching at the sorrow and fear in Baekhyun’s voice. So he does what he learned calms Baekhyun the most, pulling the other toward him and embracing him in a tight hug, letting the other hide his tear-stained face in his neck. Then he speaks,

“I can’t say that it will be fine…” Chanyeol whispers, carding his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair, “There will be expectations pushed upon us, there will be stares and comments- good and bad -everywhere we would go. I can’t assure you that nothing would change because humans…we are unpredictable but I can tell you with certainty that Jongdae and Minseok love you…have you not seen the way Jongdae was unable to talk at all when you finally talked after a century? He was weeping and I am no professional but I think that screams ‘I miss you’ and ‘I love you’. Minseok was supposed to be the mature one among you three, from what you told me anyway, but he couldn’t even look at you without tearing up…”

“Things might have changed in the century you have been stuck here but…they are your best friends and that will never change.”

Baekhyun sniffles, tightening his hold on Chanyeol and pushing his head further in the taller’s embrace, seeking affection that Chanyeol is happy to deliver.

“As for us…” Chanyeol trails off, palm coming to curl around Baekhyun neck, “I don’t know what will happen to us really; this kept me up for the past few weeks, wondering if I’ll lose you once we go back or not…”

“I don’t want to lose you Chanyeol…This…Whatever we have between us is so special to me; it's the first time I have ever felt anything like this…and I don’t know what this feeling is really but…I love how it makes me feel, it provides the solace I have been searching for and I don’t want to lose it.” Baekhyun rambles, clutching Chanyeol, 

“I just- you are a very special person to me…”

Chanyeol’s heart  _ soars _ at the other’s word, a grin forming in his lips as he tilts his head down to press a fleeting kiss on Baekhyun’s hair.

“You are special to me too; very special…” he patted the other, feeling undeniably lighter, “Now, tell me how’s your ankle, how did you even fall?”

“Emotion overloaded,” Baekhyun grumbles, trying to move away but Chanyeol just pulls him closer, “It happens all the time, when I am stressed I get injured a lot…It’s fine now though, you did the bandage well.”

“Do you want to sleep?” Chanyeol asks once Baekhyun yawns.

“I want to talk… it's better if we talk everything out now than have another breakdown…” Baekhyun says seriously but all Chanyeol see is the adorable pout on his lips, cooing at the expression on the other’s face.

“Okay then, let’s lie down though, my back hurts.”

Baekhyun laughs, plopping down on the bed and pulling Chanyeol by his neck; he follows willingly, falling on top of Baekhyun, head resting on the shorter’s chest as he cards his hands through his hair as they talk softly, the quietness of the night blanketing them.

Morning finds the two tangled up in each other, Chanyeol curled on Baekhyun’s chest while the other has his leg thrown over Chanyeol’s waist. When they awaken later, it takes almost ten minutes for them to untangle, both laughing shyly at the intimate position they ended up in.

After last night’s talk, the two feel much lighter, knowing that they share the same dislike at the thought of separating- it helped them decide to leave it up to fate for now and just enjoy each other in the present.

Last night marked a milestone for Chanyeol, the kisses he wanted to smother Baekhyun in- platonic or otherwise- gets planted on Baekhyun’s forehead the first thing after they have freshened up and morning breathe is not a hindrance. Baekhyun giggles when Chanyeol pulls him back; planting his lips on Baekhyun’s neck, smiling himself because he knows that is Baekhyun’s most sensitive spot. Throughout the day Chanyeol can’t keep his lips or his arms to himself, planting kisses everywhere on Baekhyun (except his lips or those ‘lovers spot’ because that would give away his feelings-  _ wow _ Chanyeol so clever!)

Baekhyun basks in the attention, giggling like a teenage girl every time Chanyeol comes in out of nowhere pressing his lips on his hair, or his forehead, or his nape. It’s not like Baekhyun is any different though, latching on Chanyeol at every opportunity he gets.

It’s as if last night has turned their relationship into a more…intimate one and the two star-struck wielders couldn’t find it in themselves to complain.

“We are around 5 months away,” Junmyeon explains, “If everything goes well, we’ll probably be there before the year is up.”

Chanyeol nods, jotting it down, mouth filled with biscuits. “Will you have enough fuel to make the journey to Andromeda before coming here?”

“We have enough fuel to go halfway to Andromeda after picking you and Baekhyun from L-1485, we need a refill anyway.” Junmyeon replies, “Why, do you need anything?”

‘’I was wondering if you could go to KKB-17818 to pick out their special laser cameras…One of the burnt stations are impossible to enter so Baekhyun was suggesting looking through a laser camera would help in case it contains answers we are looking for.”

“I can make an attempt, but I can’t guarantee that we will be able to get it…furthermore, our arrival will be delayed.”

“It's okay, take your time, we have been living here for over 50 years already, we can wait some more.” Chanyeol smiles, nodding his head in understanding.

“Um…” Baekhyun’s voice comes from behind him and Chanyeol turns his head, looking at the fidgeting male, “Can I- do you mind if I have a word with you, Suho-ssi?”

On the other side of the screen Suho shakes his head, assuring the other to speak, “Of course not Baekhyun-ssi, how may I help you?”

“Um… Is Kim Kai in the team dispatched from Mars?” Baekhyun asks, leaning down before Chanyeol pulls him by his wrists and makes him sit in front of the communicator.

“Kim Ka- Do you mean Kim Jongin?”

“Yes!” Baekhyun exclaims before he gives a sheepish smile toward the other, “Sorry about that… yes I mean Kim Jongin.”

“Do you want to talk to him?” Junmyeon asks tenderly, “Any of your friends?”

“No, no, no! I wish to speak to you!” Baekhyun replies hurriedly. “Since you are the leader of the overall team, I hope you are aware of the elements each of the Martian members?” he asks, waiting until Junmyeon nods his head.\ 

“Since the journey consumes around 1.2 thousand gallons of fuel, I am sure you’d have to stop at the station near the Andromeda, the one between Triangulum and Milky Way to refill the tanks.”

“Yes?...”

“When you stop for refilling, just tell Kai to teleport to Andromeda to get the laser camera from his uncle as he lives just on the edge of the galaxy.”

“But wouldn’t that be dangerous? He would either be disintegrated by the gravitational pull or be pulled by the lack of it.”

“Nope, teleporters travel on the flow of light, meaning they travel through a vacuum without any medium and in the gaps in space. So nothing would happen to him.”

“I see…” Junmyeon replied, “Your job will be done then…anything else you need?”

“Can you…bring some alcohol as well please?” Baekhyun gave an embarrassed smile, “I have been craving it for a while.”

“Yep, same for me hyung.” Chanyeol piped in.

“Okay, it was nice seeing you Baekhyun, I can’t wait to meet you again!” Baekhyun smiled, “Oh wait… you can just tell Jongin to transport the rocket in the Triangulum once you are close enough, and knowing him it wouldn’t take much effort for him to do.”

“I will let him know,” Junmyeon smiled and with a wave, cut the call.

“Wow, you Martians are so cool.” Chanyeol said awed, “Imagine holding the power to take people anywhere in a snap…”

“We are humans too, you dumbass.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “Also you have got power of your own.”

“Yeah but you are still so cool, like wow, superhumans!” Chanyeol giggled like a child making Baekhyun roll his eyes,

“What have you done to my Chanyeol to turn him into a baby?”

“If anyone’s the baby it’s you, midget.” Chanyeol teased.

Baekhyun let out an offended gasp, pushing Chanyeol’s shoulder and somehow they ended up in a tickle fight, giggling together.

Another month passed before they received another call, this time from Kris. The man looked exhausted and ready to die and as soon as the sound was on, Baekhyun understood why.

Behind Kris, Jondae was screaming at Sehun to shut up as the other laughed, almost falling off his chair. Minseok was letting out deep, prolonged sighs every 5 seconds while Suho screamed at Tao to ’sit the fuck down and eat your food.’

One look at Kris and Baekhyun couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of his chest, “I am so sorry for putting you through this, Kris-ge…”

Kris let out a scoff, forehead creasing as he winced at Suho’s yell, “Be grateful I love you enough to not abandon the ship at this moment…I am never doing anything for you ever again.”

“Okay, ge.” Baekhyun teased, smirking.

Behind Baekhyun, Chanyeol felt a smile bloom on his own lips as he watched the smaller’s face brighten, eyes turning to crescents as he laughed at Kris’ pain. ‘He’s so damn pretty…’ he thought to himself, captivated by the animated motion of Baekhyun’s hands.

He can’t wait for the rocket to land. Every time they received a call from the spacecraft, Baekhyun had turned into happy sunshine and Chanyeol basked in the quiet happiness the other exudes. He can’t wait to meet Baekhyun’s brother and introduce his own to the smaller. He can’t wait for the chaos that Baekhyun had predicted would take place once Chen lands. It’s too quiet here anyway. He really can’t wait for laughter-filled nights and watching Baekhyun shine bright in content.

In the call, Kris predicted that in around two more weeks, the two would be able to see the rocket in the night sky and possibly at daytime too.

As predicted, on the tenth day, the rocket is seen. Even though the shape of it could barely be deciphered, the moment Chanyeol had seen it and told Baekhyun, their excitement skyrocketed. Both became impatient, watching the rocket slowly make their way toward them.

On the twelfth day, the shape becomes clearer and Baekhyun- at the thought of finally seeing his friends after so long, at the thought of finally being able to nuzzle Jongdae and let Minseok massage his hair- becomes so hyper that Chanyeol has to pull him down on his lap, arms going around his middle and squeezing tight to calm the other and stop him from pacing back and fro in their already confined bedroom.

He lets Baekhyun play with his hair and hide his face in the taller’s neck seeing attention and calm just so the other doesn’t panic. Truth be told, there is nothing to panic but Chanyeol can’t take any chances, having seen Baekhyun breakdown some two months ago.

So the whole day, he stays near the other, giving him as much attention as he craves- hugs, forehead kiss and cuddles- and sings to him at night so the other can fall asleep in tranquillity.

By the end of the two weeks, it was Chanyeol who was impatient. Few more days and he’ll have his brothers surrounding him again. He became so impatient that he lost his control over his flames and almost burned down their bed. This led an equally excited but now much calmer Baekhyun to lead him outside, as to avoid any damage and rub his ears (he knew Chanyeol loved when he played with his ears.)

By sunset, the rocket was much closer and they received a call from Sehun and Jongdae, both screaming that by dawn tomorrow they’ll have landed. The speech was barely coherent, courtesy of all the unnecessary screeching, but the two understood, barely containing their excitement.

When the stars marked the night sky, the rocket vanished. However, before the two on the planet could panic, it reappeared; this time much closer. It took Baekhyun a moment to realize that it was the doing of Jongin and he smiled,

“It’s Jongin, he’s teleporting the rocket closer so they land quicker.”

Chanyeol didn’t even have the consciousness to nod, only staring up at the sky, eyes on the rocket- arms around Baekhyun squeezing in understanding.

 

 

 

 


	2. Part 2

When the sun was only beginning to show at the horizon the next morning, the two wielders hurried to the designated location where the rocket would land.

By the time they had reached there, a safe distance away from the area where the rocket would drop, the rocket was already hovering above the ground, getting ready to land.

Another twenty or so minutes and as soon as they heard the engines shut down, they sprinted toward the rocket, sharing a glance which spoke of overflowing happiness. The door had barely opened when Jongdae tumbles out and one look at the sprinting Baekhyun and his eyes widen before he too takes off.

Sehun follows him, but for Chanyeol-long legs carrying him faster to the older and as soon as he is in arm’s length, Chanyeol pulls him in his arms, clutching him close with legs almost giving up. Sehun holds him up, face burrowing in Chanyeol’s chest as a sob shakes his body. A chant of”hyung” leaves his lips as if he is having a hard time believing that this is real. Who’s Chanyeol to complain when he’s doing the exact same, streams of “Sehunnie” flowing out his mouth?

He clutches the younger to him, looking up when a shadow falls in front of them and in seconds he is clutching two shorter bodies to him. The ever emotionless Kyungsoo crying while Junmyeon barely even breathing with how hard he’s crying. He really doesn’t mind, Chanyeol thinks, he’s finally got his brothers in his arms and it’s like he’s finally home.

Baekhyun didn’t know what to expect when he saw Chen flying toward him so he keeps running and when Jongdae extends his arms, Baekhyun goes crashing in his arms, letting out a sob as he throws his arms around him.

“Oh God, Baekhyun…” Jongdae weeps, arms getting tighter around Baekhyun as he buries his face in Jongdae’s neck and let’s loose his tears. “I missed you so much…”

“Jongdae,” he cries, unable to form any words, “Jongdae…”

The two reunited friends stay wrapped around each other for how long they don’t know but soon they feel another arm snaking around them as Minseok joins in the tearful hug.

Baekhyun lifts his face from its place in Jongdae’s neck to look at the older as he ruffles his hair, kissing his head. He craved this warmth for decades now and to finally regain it…Baekhyun can’t stop the stream of tears that leaves his eyes, soaking Jongdae’s t-shirt.

Chanyeol doesn’t know how much time passed until Suho moved out of his embrace, a smile shining as he looks up at him. Chanyeol couldn’t stop the tearful smile that broke out on his face, lips curling as he squeezed Sehun curled up in his chest as much he can while standing and leaned in Kyungsoo’s soft hand caressing through his hair.

“I missed you all so much…God… I-” Chanyeol choked out, Sehun rubbing back to comfort him.

“Shh… it’s okay; we are here now…you won’t be alone anymore….” Suho smiled, his eyes tearing up again as Chanyeol let out a loud sob.

After they had finally calmed down, Suho and Kyungsoo making sure that the taller two won’t cry anymore, they separated. Well except Sehun who was still clinging onto Chanyeol like a pup with his mother.

“Sehun-ah-” Junmyeon warned.

“Just give me one more second…I haven’t seen him in a thousand years…” Sehun mumbled, once again hiding his face in Chanyeol’s neck, a pout prominent on his lips as said person only laughs,

“You are a baby.” Chanyeol teases, “It hasn’t even been a century yet.”

“Well, I’m sorry you had an actual angel to keep you company when all I was doing was travelling through the Intergalactic libraries trying to find a way to rescue you.”

“An angel?” Kyungsoo questioned before realization dawned on him, “Oh Bae-”

“Soo, you better shut up or I’ll burn your ass off.” Chanyeol growled, trying to look as intimidating as possible but as soon as a frown took over the shorter’s features he cowered, “Okay, I wouldn’t please don’t hit me!”

“Why did we come all this way to save a literal baby for?” Kyungsoo whined, turning to Junmyeon who could only laugh at the fake annoyance on the other’s face.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, let out an offensive scoff, “Because you love me, bitch. Don’t even deny it.”

“Be grateful I do, you buffoon.”

Baekhyun almost fell asleep cradled in the warmth he craved for so long so when Minseok grazed his ear with his nail, he jerked awake almost hitting Jongdae’s chin.

Without even looking up from his comfortable spot on Jongdae’s neck, he rubbed his chin in apology, pressing a light kiss on his neck for good measures.

Few more minutes pass in their comfortable position before Minseok’s soft voice travels in his ear, careful not to break the small bubble they have made for themselves,

“Do you still want to stay tucked away like this?” The teasing tilt in Minseok’s voice pulled a whine out of Baekhyun who only tucked his head firmer into Chen. “Oh god, you baby.”

“Your baby.” Baekhyun retaliated, rolling his eyes, “Do you mind, I am trying to have a moment.”

“That’s my husband!”

“And he’s my potty friend, your point?” Jongdae joined in, sharing a grin with Baekhyun as he was pulled back.

“Well, then I guess I have to enjoy my husband like this,” Minseok said before he started kissing up Jongdae’s neck.

Baekhyun raised a brow, looking toward the elder, “Um… if you think that’s gonna make me leave my space in _my_ best friend’s collarbone… I think you should reevaluate everything you have done in front of me before and stop acting like you didn’t give him a hand job in front of me, on _my_ couch.”

That made the two husbands blush bright pink, Minseok jumping away from Jongdae with a pointed cough. In a final attempt, he replied,

“Wouldn’t your boyfriend be jealous? I can see him looking over here.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, oh Luxiana no, he’s literally my best friend.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You two are married now, you gave each other handjobs in front of me when you were barely dating, I don’t even want to think about what you’ll do now, so…” Baekhyun gave them a sly grin, “I got myself a new best friend.”

“Get off my collarbone right now, you ungrateful fucker.” Jongdae pushed him away- well tried to but Baekhyun only laughed louder, held onto him tighter and buried his head deeper.

“You love it, don’t even lie.”

“Whatever.”

Later when both groups have separated themselves, promises of more cuddles to come to an unspoken agreement, they greeted the other astronauts on the rocket in another emotional session, albeit this one is much shorter.

Tao had run up to him, and thrown his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, crying about, “Chanyeol sunbae, why did you have to leave, you were the nicest instructor I ever had and I missed you so much.”

Chanyeol had laughed, patting the other’s hair as he comforted him.

Meanwhile, Jongin didn’t even speak a word, just got up from his bed (he was resting after the gruelling task of teleporting a whole rocket in an entirely new galaxy) and buried himself in Baekhyun. How is much taller self-managed to fit himself in Baekhyun’s smaller self was a mystery that no one bothered finding the answer to. Baekhyun only caressed his hair, talking quietly in Martian to the other male, comforting him in whispers. Jongin fell asleep like that, curled into Baekhyun but from the bliss in Baekhyun’s expression, he didn’t mind.

Instead, he waved at Chanyeol’s friends from his place in Jongdae’s bed giving Kris and Yixing a quick hug, promising more after Jongin wakes up.

Chanyeol approaches Baekhyun after a while when the exhilaration of finally seeing their friends had died down. Baekhyun doesn’t bother opening his eyes when he sticks a hand out for the taller to take, leaning back and resting his head against the wall.

“You are shining y’ know?” Chanyeol murmurs, taking the extended hand and squeezing, “You are absolutely enthralling.”

Baekhyun’s lips curve upwards and he sneaks his eyes open,

“You are overheated too...And your hair is redder than before so I guess it’s just our power getting overwhelmed.”

“I guess yeah, but you look pretty smiling like that.”

“Shut up... get some rest now, we haven’t slept in the past 72 hours.”

“Give me your shoulder, that’s the comfiest place to sleep on.” Chanyeol grunts, sitting beside the shorter, mindful of the sleeping Jongin as he lies on the shorter’s lap.

Baekhyun only runs his hand through his red locks and Chanyeol dozes off to the feeling of a soft hand caressing his hair.

Soon after Baekhyun feels his own tiredness catch up to him as he lets out a yawn and rests his head on the headboard, closing his eyes and joining the other two in their dreamland.

Later when Baekhyun awakens from his peaceful slumber, Jongin is gone and Baekhyun is curled up on Chanyeol’s chest with his arms tight around the taller’s waist. Still half-asleep and disoriented, Baekhyun feels his heartbreak as he thinks of the dream he just had. The dream felt so real, the warmth from Jongdae and Minseok felt so real; his tears-their tears, their laughter, their teasing- everything felt so real and Baekhyun almost breaks down at the thought of the dream…

But then loud laughter rings through the quarter and Baekhyun perks up. That was definitely not his-or Chanyeol’s. That was when he noticed that instead of their small bedroom, he is in a much bigger room with high ceiling, bigger windows and most of all his attention was caught by the 4 beds scattered around the room.

He jumps out of his bed, mindful of Chanyeol before he cautiously makes his way to where he presumes is the mess room is. As soon as he steps his foot out of the door, however, he is enveloped by Jongin’s familiar arms and he feels his eyes open wide as the realization that this isn’t a dream- that this is _really_ \- sets in. He feels his eyes water but before a drop of tear is wasted, Jongin rubs his thumb along his cheeks comforting him.

“Don’t cry hyung…we are here now…” The younger still sounds sleepy as his he had just woken up. Even though Jongin is comforting him, his own eyes are wet with unshed tears and Baekhyun finds himself doing the same as what Jongin did moments ago, reaching to caress away the lone tear that manages to escape.

Baekhyun understands the other. Oh, he does; he was there since he was born after all. Despite being only 2 at the time of Jongin’s birth, Baekhyun had raised Jongin. Despite him being Jongade’s step-brother, Jongin was always closer to Baekhyun.

And to not see the brother who practically raised you for over a century…it was no wonder when Jongin’s strong façade faded and he cried on Baekhyun’s chest, mumbling “hyung” repeatedly as if he had a hard time believing he was really here, in Baekhyun’s arms.

Baekhyun pats the younger’s hair, looking up when a shadow falls in front of him. Jongdae gives him a small smile, mouthing “He missed you like hell…cried himself to sleep all the time” at him. Baekhyun returned the smile with a blinding smile of his own.

_I know Dae…I know, he was always my baby._

Jongdae nods before he leaves quietly, preferring to let the two have a moment to themselves.

When Jongin has calmed down, the two waddled in the mess hall for Jongin had vehemently refused to let go of Baekhyun citing an _“I need my fill of your cuddles”_ as a reason. Baekhyun let him be, carrying most of their weight by themselves as he walked to the kitchen.

Everyone quietened before Minseok spoke up with a frown on his face, “I told you not to skip your sleep,” he shook his head disapprovingly, “A century and you have already forgotten everything I told you.”

Baekhyun smiled sheepishly, “Sorry hyung, we were too excited to finally see you that we couldn’t sleep. Chanyeol was so hyper that his excitement rubbed off on me…”

Suho spoke up then, “That baboon…He is always too hyper for his own good, I’m sorry you had to put up with his overwhelming eagerness…”

“It was no problem! I was too hyper on my own so it was good to have someone who was the same as me… also, baboon?” Baekhyun exclaimed, laughing.

“In college, he looked like one so we just call him that as a nickname,” Sehun winked, “He hates it so we use it even more.”

Everyone in the room burst out laughing and Baekhyun was finally set free from Jongin’s clutches as he went to bother Minseok instead.

Baekhyun, as promised, gave Yixing and Kris their long hugs, nuzzling Kris, knowing how much the male hates it before he sat down in one of the chairs with a cup of long craved coffee.

Not wanting Chanyeol to miss out on any of the chaos, he was about to get up again to wake the other but it seemed there was no need for it as the taller tumbled in a moment later, disoriented and still in sleep’s clutches.

He cast an eye over everyone and confusion flashed in his orbs before they landed on the shorter and he waddled toward him, dropping his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder as he regained his sense of direction. Baekhyun only giggled, rubbing the other’s ear as he calmed the other’s haywire senses, knowing how Chanyeol becomes when he wakes up in an unfamiliar setting.

“You know I hate it when I wake up without you…” he mumbled, unaware of the Cheshire grins that cast itself on the lips of everyone else in the room.

“Sorry…” Baekhyun replied, too engrossed in Chanyeol to notice the glances that were shared between Jongdae and Sehun.

The two would’ve stayed in the same position for longer if it wasn’t for Luhan knowingly putting his coffee cup on the table with a loud thud. Chanyeol’s eyes widened as he jumped and Baekhyun had frozen in his place, with his hand still mid-air where he was caressing Chanyeol’s ear.

The transition from confusion to recognition to the bright red the two turned once they realized what had happened was amusing to watch and everyone stared at them with knowing shit-eating grins, watching them turn redder by the second.

“Um…hey?” Chanyeol tried to elevate the mood, trying to escape the knowing stares, “I’ll be back. I gotta pee.” He yelled and then winced at the loudness of his own voice. Then tripped and almost fell to the ground in his hurry to escape the room.

The laughter that rang out soon enough, in an instant, made Baekhyun forget his own embarrassment as he too laughed, the unstoppable sound bubbling out of his chest.

When everyone has settled down, raucous laughter ceasing to create an atmosphere for quiet contentment, everyone indulged Baekhyun and Chanyeol as they relay their adventures in the mysterious planet. When Chanyeol had reached the part about power and orbs, Yixing stopped him and asked to see the orbs.

When asked why, Yixing explained,

“There was no orb in the last two centuries that were abandoned. We know that our main source of power comes from the orbs but after some research, courtesy of you two, I found something. The power orbs… unlike popular belief can’t give or take away power. It is a medium of relaxation for new bloomers meaning they can transfer their powers temporarily to the orb to take a break from the constant itch under our skins… even more interesting is that regardless of whether an orb is used or not, your power stays with you. Since the source is active it is lessened but you can still feel the flow of your element under your skin…”

“So you mean to say… wielders can always wield powers regardless of their knowledge of it?” Suho questions and Yixing nods.

“The power orb act as…what is it? Ah yeah, as a trigger. If you are given a power orb and that is the element you wield, the power orb will trigger your hidden potential and that's why Chanyeol when you took the fire orb in your hand, you lit up.”

“Wait…why did we need the orb anyway if it doesn’t take away or give us power?” Chen questions.

“Apparently when powers first appeared, everything was haywire so some scientists formed an institution to research on the causes and whatever else…they created these orbs with high radioactive materials such as uranium and plutonium so the power is sucked out of the person and trapped inside the orb…It was successful for a while but after the death of nearly ten thousand wielders they researched further and created these orbs which contain our powers without actually harming the individual…” Yixing explained, reaching inside his chest to bring out his orb.

“I wasn’t able to find out just how they made these, with its absorbing qualities and all other function or just why and how it works but…the research facility is now banned from Earth and Mars and all other planets in the Intergalactic Alliance, so it’s even harder to garner any kind of info…”

“Anyway as I was saying, the orb helps new learners maintain their power while they train themselves. Except this doesn’t apply to born elementals…they can, from the moment the power is harnessed, have full control of it and very little training is needed for them.”

“So you can have power artificially transferred to you?”

“Not really no, you have to have a history of wielders for you to be able to control an orb…You can’t wield power, regardless of your manpower, if you didn’t have ancestry in wielding.”

“So that means…” Kyungsoo trailed off, looking at Chanyeol as the taller stared wide-eyed.

“I had someone in my family who was a wielder?”

“It’s likely considering that when they first appeared, they appeared in Earth and Mars simultaneously so I wouldn’t be surprised if your family had a history with power.”

“Then how did it disappear? Of earth as a whole?” Sehun questioned and this time Jongin spoke up,

“There was this group of crazy scientists who thought it was aliens that invaded earth disguised as humans so they began kidnapping as many elementals as possible…some escaped to Mars, others captured and never heard off. Connection with Mars was completely cut off, and some three years later out of nowhere earth launched a nuclear missile at Mars, blaming them for letting aliens infiltrate earth… ”

“That’s crazy…”

“Yeah, but what worse is that somehow they managed to convince Earthians that it was an omen and that led to almost a thousand life-threatening surgeries being performed on wielder in hopes to find the root of the evil…Mars caught up and somehow rumours spread of us being a threat to humans and the same thing happened to Martian wielder. After years of struggle, wielders in Mars were accepted back in society but in earth…any wielder found was executed and the Red Force- the facility I mentioned-continued to capture any wielders they find, including smuggling them in from Mars and research on them… Those who escaped…you don’t want to know.” Jongin concluded, the mood growing sombre.

“There were reports of people’s powers being stolen and put into orbs but no one ever found any evidence for it…even though a lot of wielders went missing and when found, they lost all of their abilities…” Baekhyun said, frown deepening, “Especially in the earth, they managed to wipe wielders off or at least did something that constricted powers from harnessing and despite the person having the qualities of wielders… They weren’t able to yield any of the power…something about a barrier around the earth that constricted all uses of our powers…”

“Yep…” Yixing nodded, “That’s all you can find on powers but I have a hypothesis that since the power orbs can trigger one’s abilities if one of you were to be a wielder, like Chanyeol, your power would be triggered once you come in contact with one of the orbs.”

“What are the chances though?” Sehun points out “Just because hyung turned out to be a wielder doesn’t mean all Earthians are. That would just be chaos considering Earthian fear of magic or powers or Martians, to be honest.”

“Of course not, not all Martians have powers either… but my hypothesis makes sense and I don’t think it would hurt to test it out… unless of course, you share the stereotypical sentiments about wielders and don’t want yourself to turn out to be one.”

“Yixing is right, it’s not like there is anything to be scared about. In fact, it’s just cool to have powers! Like the Avengers!” Tao exclaimed, already excited at the prospect of having supernatural abilities.

“Yeah,” Suho replied, smiling, “Now that we have established that it is just a lie that elementals are a danger, I would love to see if I am a wielder.”

A chorus of “same” and “yep” resounded throughout the hall as all the Earthians agreed.

“Before that though, now that we are on the topic of powers and its origins…” Suho said, “Before leaving I was going through some info I can find on its origin…and I even asked Kris to send me anything he knows of its origin and after compiling all the info together…there is one story that seemed to be a common hypothesis of its origin.”

“What?”

“Yep, and surprisingly it’s not a scientific theory that is widely accepted but instead a myth which…does make sense… I have the book where the story is in detail. It’s an old one, written thousands of years ago presumably by all the original wielders.”

“Wait wasn’t the first wielders astronauts who were out on a collaborative mission between Earth and Mars?” Baekhyun questioned.

“Yes! When they retired they wrote a book detailing the origins of their powers.”

“What book?”

“I have the original copy in my bag, I'll get it now.”

As Suho went to grab the book, the others engaged in a debate of whether this planet was somehow directly linked with the origins of powers or not. Though most of them agreed that it was only a radioactive reaction due to the astronauts’ long exposure to the void of space, Jongdae, Sehun and Baekhyun agreed that there might be some truth under the soil of this planet, holding the secrets away from their eyes to protect something more valuable.

“Here it is. Though it seems like a story, there are elements which cannot be denied…as of it was actually experienced by them…”

“Read it to us!” Everyone chorused as Suho sat down and started with the narration.

‘ _Once upon a time, when heaven was warring among themselves, a deity, realizing the consequences the war would have on the universe, stole the heart of the 12 rulers of heaven when they perished due to their own foolishness and with his remaining power, in an attempt to save the universe, gave life to an extraordinary magical tree-The Lignum Vitae.”_

_“Knowing the evil that caused heaven to turn against itself, he gave life to 12 guardians. He divided each heart in half and merged it with another. Then he breathed life in each of the guardians and tasked them to protect the tree even at the cost of their own lives and promised to always look out for them from wherever he would be. Before he could foresee the future to warn the guardians of any potential dangers, however, the evil corrupted his soul and the guardians were forced to kill him._

_Through their twelve forces, the guardians nurtured the tree of life._

_After the war had subdued, peace was regained. But then humans came. The guardians believing they were the saviours of heaven gifted 12 souls part of their own -knowing their immortality and unchallenged power could cause troubles in the future- and thus grew 12 legends, each bearing the responsibility to find the tree and saving the heaven from another downfall. However, whichever deity had created mankind committed a grave mistake. They gave humans free will which leads two unknowing souls to ruin the world and its purity by listening to the call of evil and thus the peace was lost. The evil, also known as the 7 deadly sins caused the downfall of humankind.”_

_“Soon the corruption of the evil affected humans and they started worshipping war and hatred instead of peace and love, thus creating the Red Force; an organization bidding the call of evil and intent on the extinction of the legends and their protection of innocence.”_

_“They found the prophecy and sent their strongest to hunt it down and destroy the tree. The 12 legends, long perished had hidden the location so thoroughly that even their descendants were unaware of its whereabouts. But they knew what they must do. They sent one person from each family line to search for the tree and warn the guardians. Whether they found them or not is never disclosed but when they came back… they were different. So much that their families turned their backs on them and the ultimate corruption-betrayal was unleashed.”_

_“The tree was found and destroyed, however one thing the Red Force missed was the heart which the legends had carried with them to the earth. Or maybe it was the guardians, using the legends as their vessels, no one knows. One thing they realized, however, was the growth of supernatural abilities in each legend. Science passed it off as a radioactive reaction but only the bearers of such abilities knew the true origin of them._

_“The guardians split the heart in 2 and split up in two groups of 6. One travelled to earth bearing the right side while the other to Mars, carrying the left. Each part symbolized something-the right represented hope while the left represented knowledge and purity. “However… something terrible occurred, The Red Force found them and in a last attempt to save the heart of the universe, the two parties decided to erase their memories and leave it up to fate to reunite, confidently believing destiny would lead them. The legends now travelled alone, each looking for answers concealed in their hearts yet hidden due to the spell they had cast on themselves”_

_“It is believed that the legends shall stand on the same ground but see different skies-parallel dimensions- or stand on different grounds but see the same sky- Mars and Earth and the day the grounds be kept a single file before one sky in two worlds that seem alike, the legends will greet each other, and when all 12 legends finally meet again on the fated day, the world would be saved, peace restored and suffering extinguished. Once they have finished their job, the twelve forces shall return to their planet and restore the heart of the Tree so the balance of the universe is restored again. When they reunite into one perfect, solidifying root, a new world shall open up._

_Now, I can’t say what had happened however the legends supposedly regain all memories on each lunar eclipse that allows them to be free of the curse they had set upon themselves so they can find each other._

_When the legends reunite, no one knows what shall happen but as the deity had promised the guardians, he shall protect and guide each soul to the finish line once the time is right. When they have finally allied once again, they shall stand united and face the corruption of the red force and defeat the demon before further destruction is caused.”_

_“However, if you remember of how the deity had split each heart in two and merged each part with a part of another, it is prophesied that they must find the other half of their hearts…otherwise, they will fail to face evil and instead be turned.  they must find their other halves first so that when they face the Red Force, they are stronger._

_I suppose this is what you would call soulmates in fiction. When soulmates have found each other, an instant connection is formed-a bond that allows them to speak without words, understand each other to the core. However, I suppose this knowledge is not necessary for the origin of our abilities so I shall stop here and write a concluding paragraph._

_When the guardians reunite, with purified minds and one honest goal, the evil will be banished forever, the Tree restored to its full glory, saving the heavens, humankind and every other existence in the mere universe and restoring unity, love and innocence.”_

_I shall leave it upon you to believe my words but now I must go for I need to remove my memories before they come to capture me. To all wielders that bear the power bestowed upon us currently and in future I reassure you; if you come across my tale, worry not for all will be revealed in due time. Believe in your soul for that is all the guidance He can provide you. When you have found the truth, I wish you best for this journey will not be easy._

_Signed,_

_Guardians of Life_

Junmyeon finishes, coughing lightly to clear his throat before speaking again, “In this tale… the Gods that existed had vanished and if it was a reality then I assume the Gods would be the twelve guardians.” After that everyone quietened, each lost in their own thoughts, mind still processing the information given-albeit unsure of the truth in it.

One thing they would agree on, however, is that it felt too familiar…too true to just be a tale.

“The tree of Life… It’s the same one as the one here isn’t it?” Minseok asked after a while. “When Baekhyun landed…he saw destruction and when Chanyeol landed fifty years later the scene had only worsened…and after he replanted the Lignum Vitae, the planet’s all vibrant again…I think saying this is the mythical planet…if the tale is true that is, we wouldn’t be wrong.”

“Still, if this is the Lignum Vitae…how did the universe survive for the millenniums that passed after powers were introduced to the world? I mean if we were to create a timeline of the events, the powers came to earth after the Lignum Vitae was destroyed and the guardians left for the Milky Way…” Sehun argued, “How are we alive if the tree is the core to our existence?”

“Um…when I first came here, the Lignum Vitae was a sprout…when I came here the tree wasn’t here but it was as if someone had planted a new tree here…and there were some other trees as well.”

“Same with me…remember when I told you I found a sprout in the ground when I arrived?” Chanyeol asked Sehun, “It was the Lignum Vitae.”

With that everyone quietened again, unable to comprehend the mysteries hidden within the soil of L-1485.

“Before we go any further…” Yixing said finally after hours of thoughtful silence, “Can we test my hypothesis? I have a feeling it might be the first step if we want to find the answers to our questions.”

Once everyone nodded in agreement, Baekhyun stood up with Jongin, ready to teleport to his and Chanyeol’s rocket- their home- to get the orbs. Before they left, however, Chanyeol met his eyes, telling him to be careful without breaking his hazed silence. Baekhyun only nodded before he disappeared.

The silence in the room was heavy, filled with constricted confusion and worry. In an attempt to break the silence, Sehun finally moved to sit near Chanyeol. A mischievous smile graced his face as he asked in the most innocent tone he could muster, “Hyung…How come you never told you started dating? I thought we promised each other to reveal our boyfriends when we start dating…and it’s been 20 years and you still didn’t tell me that you started dating Baekhyun hyung!”

Chanyeol spluttered immediately, turning red as his eyes widened, “I’m not dating him! What are you talking about?”

“Oh, but the way you two look at each other…like Minseok hyung looks at Jongdae hyung…and they are married so we thought…”

Jongdae’s lips curled in a smirk as he joined Sehun, “Say Chanyeol… I hope you don’t mind me calling you that…did you ever kiss? I mean that’s some solid bond right there with the way you were cuddling in bed and then that domestic scene…it does look like you are dating.”

“No!” Chanyeol exclaimed, blushing deeper, “We aren’t dating… I’m sure he doesn’t even like me like that…”

“Oh?” Kyungsoo joined in, “Does that mean you like him like _that?_ ”

Chanyeol remained silent, face burning but still not denying. After all, it was pretty clear that he was completely smitten.

“Hey,” Minseok called out after he had his laugh, “Chanyeol, it’s fine if you love him…I am sure he loves you too, and if you are scared of us…don’t be, we wouldn’t bite.”

“That is unless, of course, if you hurt him.” Yixing warned, a sweet smile on his face but his tone threatening, “In case you do…I hope you learn how to use clutches quickly because your legs surely won’t be there anymore.”

“I-”

“Chanyeol-ah, c’ mon spill~” Luhan provoked in a sing-song voice.

“Won’t you tell us? Your brother?” Junmyeon faked a heartbroken look.

“Don’t you want advice on what your boyfriend likes?” Kris joined in.

“And learn about things you should avoid if you want to keep your kneecaps?” Yixing smiled.

“You can tell us~” Sehun whined, ”I am sure we can give you good advice.”

“Yeah, come on Chanyeol,” pressured Jongdae and Minseok.

The scrutinizing gaze of the other finally broke Chanyeol’s walls as he yelled, “Fine, yes I do! Of course, I do, he’s the most beautiful person I have seen in my life.”

“There we go!” Tao grinned, “Now, we can help you with your dilemma.”

“God, please don’t do anything… I don’t want to lose what I have with him…”

“Oh, you wouldn’t!” Jongdae reassured, “He just needs a little push before he spills everything…about how you are the fire to his heart, the warmth to his light and you know all the cheesy stuff.”

Chanyeol tried to protest but Baekhyun’s own friends willing to help him…it was a good opportunity and Chanyeol couldn’t stop himself from grabbing it.

“Fine…what am I supposed to do?” Before he could get an answer, however, Baekhyun and Jongin reappeared, holding a box where the orbs were kept.

“I’ll tell you everything you need later, for now, let’s find out if we can find any new best friends.” Jongdae winked as Baekhyun set the box down.

Chanyeol expected at least one of his brothers to be influenced by the orb when the box is finally opened, revealing the shining orbs. However what he didn’t expect was the room to completely fall silent, an ominous quiet hanging in the air before the Earthian fell into a trance and then Luhan collapsed.

Chanyeol lied Luhan down on the couch, hand checking his pulses and sighing in relief when he felt a sound flow.

The Martians looked in worry before Chanyeol nodded, relief clear in his eyes. Yixing sat beside Luhan, touching the fainted male’s forehead before light began seeping out of his hand, “He’s fine,” he said, “Nothing out of ordinary…but, that reaction may as well have confirmed that he’s bears telekinesis, the power to read minds, move things without touch and even foresee the future.” He whispered, assuring the Earthians but everyone except Chanyeol seemed to be in a trance, pulled toward the orbs.

Everyone conscious watched with baited breaths as the Earthians were pulled into a trance and the call of the orbs, clouding their minds.

The first one to touch an orb was Sehun. As soon as his fingers made contact with orbs, a gust of wind blew across the room, the force of it almost knocking the others of their feet.

“Air.” Kris breathed, “My counterpart.”

As soon as the wind came, it disappeared and Sehun fell on Chanyeol’s waiting arms.

Not surprised by the fainting after having experienced it himself, Chanyeol only lied him down beside Luhan on the couch, letting Yixing check for any internal injury that may have been caused.

The next one to touch the orb was Tao. As soon as he lifted his orb, everything stopped. The air in the room stiffened and everyone else froze. Before his worries had a chance to manifest, he collapsed, barely falling on Chanyeol’s frozen arms.

When Chanyeol felt Tao’s body fall on him, he blinked confusedly. What just happened? It was as if time had stopped for a second after Tao came in contact with his orb. After Yixing had checked up on him and made sure he’s safe, Jongin murmured, “Time control. He just froze time when he touched the orb.” Chanyeol could only nod in hurried understanding before the earth under his feet shifted.

He didn’t need to be told. Kyungsoo had the power of the earth. After he had laid Kyungsoo down, Kris motioned him to sit as he took Chanyeol’s place to catch Junmyeon when he falls. As Suho touched his orb, water flowed and each person in the room felt their blood sing. Without a doubt, Suho was a water bearer, controlling anything and everything as long as they were liquid. Kris easily caught the shorter when he stumbled in his arms, falling unconscious.

It was done. Yixing was right and all of his brothers were wielders. Chanyeol could only share an exhausted, overjoyed smile with Baekhyun before a sudden weakness took him over and he fell asleep

Not much was notable after the new wielders found their abilities. The happiness and wonder were much expected and so was the strictness in Kris’ voice as he informed the Earthians of the training they need to go through to fully master their abilities.

Despite moans and groans, for the next two months or so the Earthians trained relentlessly, rediscovering themselves and learning about their powers. Chanyeol was over the moon at the revelation that his best friends-his _brothers_ were all wielders. Even more so when they reacted positively at their newfound abilities.

Early morning to sunset was filled with unstopped training- jogging, meditation and anything Kris could think of as an ex-trainer- and nights were filled with shared stories and laughter around a small bonfire. Also, it had unlimited cuddles courtesy of Baekhyun’s inner cuddle monster acting up, who despite trying to remain polite, gave in to the temptation of Sehun’s arms and after that hasn’t hesitated to throw himself at any available Earthians when the Martians and Chanyeol were busy doing their own stuff. Tao too seemed to indulge himself in the number of warm hugs he was getting, happily accepting Baekhyun when the smaller jumped on him out of nowhere.

Soon, the newcomers understood what Baekhyun and Chanyeol had told them about this planet. It really felt like home and now away from all the pollution and daily responsibilities, with newfound family, the twelve males couldn’t stop themselves from getting attached to the planet.

As they say, all good things come to an end and their end came in the form of a voicemail sent by the Intergalactic Alliance.

After a day full of training, when the twelve tired men gathered around the table in the mess hall, the message played. In an instant, the happy, content mood disappeared leaving a sour feeling in their chest.

They were to be back in the next six months-the order stated. Refusing would only cause problems as the alliance had their ‘reasons ’ to want them back home as soon as possible.

The rest of the night, for the first time in two months, was spent quietly, every single person in the room feeling sombre at the thought of leaving such a beautiful planet they had grown to call home.

When morning came, Suho and Kris called a discussion, asking for each of their opinions concerning the order. Despite their rationality telling them to obey, the pull towards the planet was impossible to resist and the leaders decided that it’s about time they ask what their heart wants and not their seniors.

Everyone advocated staying in L-1485, now called Eri for its previous name sounded too foreign and unlike home. After much thought and debate, the agreement that they reached was that they would ask for a few more months (hopefully years) to search the planet for reasons that caused it to self-destruct. Or find evidence that the tale that they got to know was the truth. They wanted answers- for why Baekhyun was abandoned and of the mysteries of hidden in the walls of the burnt stations.

Extension they got, but with a warning. A warning that left them feeling queasy. The supervisor that gave them the extension sounded worried as if he knew something the others didn’t. Despite being pressured he didn’t say anything only warning them that this planet, their Eri, is much more than what meets the eye. In both good and bad ways.

After that, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were given the title of leaders as they guided the other’s through a plan, they had been working on for the past few years while awaiting their rescue.

It all may seem too hurried, too quick but everyone was aware of the limited time they had and to enjoy it fully they wanted work to be done ASAP.

“So, do we want teams of three, four or sixes?” Suho asked as they stopped in front of the group of burnt and destroyed buildings. This time it was the buildings that Baekhyun and Chanyeol had been unable to enter due to the lack of proper equipment, destroyed so thoroughly no one was sure that they could even go inside. Chanyeol sighed,

"As much as I want to finish our excavating ASAP, I think taking these set of buildings…we should go in larger numbers and take time to search through it. God knows what we'll find.”

“I agree, this set of buildings were the most damaged by whatever had happened…we should take our time…and be very careful because of how radioactive they are…” Baekhyun agreed, letting out a long, tired sigh.

None of them had any proper sleep for the last few days since they had started with the expedition, tirelessly working so they have time left later to enjoy the planet fully before they must leave.

“Ok then,” Suho concluded, “These two sets of buildings- we are going in as 6, Earthians with me, Martians with Yifan.”

Everyone split as they were told, Martians standing beside Kris while Suho stood in front of the Earthian. “Let's get this over and done with.”

Everyone let out a cheer, hoping to lift up the mood. It worked and with their final words of encouragement the two groups left on their separate assignment.

“Shit…” Jongdae grumbled as soon as they entered the building, the smell of burnt chemicals and rotten trees infiltrating his nose. He covered his nose whining in disgust as they moved, “Are you sure we can make it out alive? I feel like dying already.”

“Honestly… let’s get this over with quickly.” Kris grumbled, striding through the hall as the others followed.

“Kris-ge?” Baekhyun called, “I think you wanna slow down.”

That is all the warning he can muster before the ground beneath Kris’ leg collapses.

 

“God, did someone die here?” Kyungsoo mutters in disgust, nose crinkling as he walks behind Junmyeon.

“This is better than the buildings on the other side...” Chanyeol shudders at the memory of the building he and Baekhyun roamed, “The odour in the other one... Go, I fainted because of it.”

“You’s faint anyway, Yeol.” Luhan grumbles, “I hate my power...everything is just painful now...”

“You’ll be okay?” Tao asks, rubbing his back, “Do you need to sit down?”

“No no I’ll be fine, let’s just get this over with and then go back to the mess hall.”

 

Everyone watches with wide eyes as Kris goes down and down, the said male still too shocked to respond.

“Hyung?” Yixing calls meekly, “You there?”

“Shut up, I fucking hate you all...” Kris grumbles as he lets his transparent wings out, flying to the ground and kneeling down once he is sure that the ground won’t break again.

“Why couldn't you have warned me?” he glares at Baekhyun who looks offended for a second before he bursts out laughing.

“Don't try to push your fault on others.” Baekhyun grins, “I did warn you, it's just that you stepped on the faulty tile before I finished talking.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever....” Kris mumbled, attempting to stand up before falling again, “oh my God, My hip!”

“Not my fault that you are getting old that it takes one fall for hips to crumble.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes, before he casts a look at Jongdae and sighs, “Can we get going? I think Jongdae is about to faint.”

“I actually feel like fainting...You know how sensitive I am to smells....” Jongdae said, voice quiet as if trying to keep his breakfast in.

Yixing sighed and leaned forward toward Jongdae, touching their foreheads together as he let his healing power flow to the other. Jongdae let out a relieved sigh as he felt Yixing’s power flow in him, blocking out the odour swiftly.

“Thank you,” he said, leaning on his husband as he recovered.

After a while of moaning, Kris stood up, seemingly relieved of his pain once Baekhyun had massaged his hips, “Everything good?”

Everyone nodded before Jongin urged them to move, “It’s gonna take us all day if we carry on at this speed so let's get going.”

Luhan winced again, clutching his head as his eyes clouded.

“Hey, guys...” Tao called, holding on to Luhan once his legs gave out and he tumbled forward, “Hey, Lu-ge! Ge what happened?”

At Tao’s panicked yell, the Earthians crowded around Luhan who only cried out in pain, unable to comprehend any words that left the others. Suho instantly went down on his knees, carefully checking over his vitals and letting his element flow in Luhan’s veins trying to calm the other.

However, his attempts were of no use as Luhan’s wails only increased while the others watched helplessly.

Then, as sudden as his wails started, Luhan stopped, body going lax.

“Guys, should I go and check on the others? They might have found something.” Jongin suggested.

“That'd be a good idea.” Minseok agreed and the others nodded, “Go on, check up on them.”

“I will be back soon.” Jongin smiled before he disappeared.

Panic was evident in Suho’s eyes as he roamed his hands on Luhan’s body, looking for any injuries that might have caused him to fall unconscious.

The others despite their evident fear remained calm, letting Suho work.

In their worry they failed to notice when Kai appeared behind them, smile changing into a frown as he saw the crowd. Jongin slowly approached Sehun, whispering to get his attention,

“Hey…What happened?”

“Luhan fainted,” Chanyeol answered instead, “Out of nowhere.”

Jongin’s eyes widened as he finally noticed the male lying on the cold floor with Suho bent over him, “What happened? How?”

“We don’t know, we were only walking through the corridors when Luhan hyung complained about a headache and when we were walking through here…he just cried out, dropping to the floor and suddenly fainted,” Tao answered, shaking in fear even though Kyungsoo was rubbing his shoulders in a calming manner.

Jongin became silent when Suho looked up with fearful and confused eyes, shaking his head to signify he didn’t know what happened to Luhan before an idea crossed his mind.

“It’s gonna be fine, let me go get Yixing hyung, I am sure he can tell us what’s wrong.”

Jongin had no time to explain what was going on when he reappeared in front of the Martians, only taking Yixing’s hand and muttering a low “Luhan” before he disappeared again, this time with Yixing. The others looked at the spot where Yxing was standing in worry, unsure of what to do next as even Kris was silent in worry.

Thankfully Yixing didn’t ask any questions when they reappeared in front of the crowd of Earthians, stumbling to the floor beside Suho as he picked Luhan’s head up in his lap. His hands began to wander, from his head to his eyes to his pulse and Suho could only look on as Yixing examined the other, confusion clear in his eyes.

Yixing let his power seep into Luhan’s skin, hoping it would find the reason but only getting a healthy response. After a while he sighed and leaned back, shaking his head to let the others know he had failed to find anything.

“There is nothing wrong, his vitals are fine and his organs are healthy; there is no sign of any sort of injuries either.”

“Then why would he-”

“My guess is that his power overwhelmed him. It is very common for telekinetics to experience loss of consciousness when they see something in their mind.” Yixing replied, “If it is that, he’ll be completely fine when awakens.”

“We can’t just leave him here and we still have the mission to carry out…” Sehun said.

Yixing replied instantly, “Jongin can teleport us back to the base and I can look after him while you carry on with the mission...”

“That is a good idea.” Suho said finally, “We can carry on with the mission and we’ll see you at the base?”

Yixing nodded, picking up Luhan’s lax body as he stood up and a reassuring smile later, Jongin teleported them back to their base.

The others could only look silently as they hoped for the best.

A while after he disappeared, the Martians were getting worried, and despite not stopping their mission, their mind was clouded with thoughts of Luhan and what might have happened at the other building.

A short while later, Jongin reappeared, panting. The five males instantly became alert but Jongin’s shake of hand suggested that everything was fine. When Jongin had finally caught his breath, he explained the situation, reassuring a worried Baekhyun that it’s all fine now and that Yixing is with Luhan back at the base and that Suho wants them to carry on with the mission.

The others nodded in understanding, agreeing to not stop the mission despite the unease that began creeping up their hearts.

“Let’s just get this over with, if Yixing says Luhan is fine, he probably is,” Kris ordered after the gloomy atmosphere refused to disappear.

At the end of the day when the tired explorers returned to their base, confusion and worry for their friend clouding their minds, they were relieved to find that Luhan has recovered with his cheerful and chirpy personality back as if nothing had happened earlier.

When they begin to file into the kitchen, Luhan is sitting on the counter laughing with Yixing as the other cuts vegetables for their dinner.

“Hyung!” Tao exclaims, enveloping the male in a tight embrace,” You had us worried the entire day!”

“Sorry,” Luhan smiles sheepishly, “I am fine now though.”

“What happened?”

“I will tell you when we are having dinner; it’s something everyone needs to hear.” Luhan said, playfulness was forgotten for a moment before its back again, “Go freshen up, I will set the plates.”

When everyone had freshened up and gathered in the mess hall where Luhan and Yixing were serving freshly made soup and rice, there was still an air of conflicting feelings. Regardless of how chirpy Luhan is now, the Earthians just can’t seem to get the thought of his lax body out of their head while the Martians are having a silent debate among each other as to if they should approach the other half.

The air was tense and Baekhyun knew that the stare he feels at the back of his head was shot by no one but Chanyeol. His attempt to ignore the other remained unsuccessful despite he put his best effort in doing so.

It became clear that the other was getting annoyed at the cold shoulder he was receiving from Baekhyun for no apparent reasons if the sighs he was letting out every minute was something to go by.

After a while, it seemed that even Jongdae and Minseok got annoyed as they pulled him to the side, cornering him.

“What do you think about ignoring Chanyeol like that?” Jongdae hisses, “That guy’s trying to get your attention for like the past two hours.”

“Nothing Dae, it’s nothing so don’t worry.”

“We should worry…” Minseok whispered, “Stop acting like strangers, you were each other’s saving graces for the past 50 years. Here I was thinking you’ll finally grow some balls but you keep on ignoring him every time he tries to get your attention!”

‘’I’m just-” Baekhyun sighed, “We will be returning back to Mars in a few months, maximum a year… if I don’t distance myself now…I wouldn’t be able to cope when he’s not there with me anymore.”

“Oh, Baekhyun!” Jongdae sighed, exasperated as the other’s obliviousness, “That guy loves you like I love Min…there is no way he doesn’t, have you seen the way he looks at you?”

“He doesn’t.” Baekhyun argues stubbornly, “He is confusing the gratefulness he feels towards me with love. We have a special connection…I know that but…isn’t it clearly made out of convenience? If there was someone else with us stuck here…would he still choose me?”

“Baekhyun…”

“No let me finish- would he still say he loves me? Anyway, we are going back…we are from two enemy planets who created an alliance out of convenience to save their best astronauts…will he even remember me once he goes back?” Baekhyun asks brokenly, eyes helpless.

“Baekhyun, you don’t know that.” Minseok says, trying to pacify the other, “You don’t know that but fate works in funny ways and you are the one who he loves… you can’t take that away from him.”

“But-”

“No buts, we don’t know what would happen if he didn’t meet you but the fact is that you two met, lived together for 50 years and both of you have clear-crystal clear- feelings for each other. Just give him a chance Baek, I have never seen you as happy and content as you are when he’s with you. If not for him, do it for yourself, Baekhyunnie~” Jongdae retaliates, “Trust me, give him a chance; you deserve to be happy too.”

Baekhyun doesn’t reply but the small smile on his face is enough for Jongdae to ask him to talk to the other before Luhan calls them to the table.

The table engages in small chatter with the groups sharing their findings with each other. Though nothing significant seemed to come out of their whole day expedition, the twelve men are content enough with a topic to converse on.

As dinner progresses, Tao remembers Luhan’s words from earlier, urging him to spill his thoughts. With the others expectant gaze on him, Luhan finally agrees, clearing his throat before starting,

“I don’t really remember what happened or where I was if I am being honest. I was walking with Tao through the hallways and suddenly my vision began clouding and I felt like I lost control of my body.”

“Yeah well, you fainted.”

“No, I didn’t, that’s the thing, and I was just…pulled in my head? I don’t remember much but it was like a dream as if I had fallen asleep…and in my dream…there was a scene playing with a golden tree and twelve males bowing to it…there was a figure…telling them to prepare to move and something else…something about an evil force or something…”

“It felt too real,” Luhan said, “It felt like I have experienced it before. I remember the twelve males were holding on to something, a rock which had different carvings on it. the dream was so vivid…the whole thing felt like it was happening in real life and that I could touch the people, the tree, the rock if I had extended my hand…”

“When I woke up after it, I was in my bed and Yixing was there…he said I was saying weird stuff in my sleep…”

“Yeah, you were chanting about someone separating and how much you love them…never got the name sadly.”

“That’s a lie,” Luhan yell, punching the other’s shoulder, “I had one boyfriend who I am glad I broke up with… I hate him so I am sure I wasn’t saying his name…unless it's about kicking his balls which I’d love to do.”

“So…you just had this weird dream about a tree and some people?” Chanyeol asked disbelievingly, “And here I thought it might be something more interesting.”

“Hey-”

“Can you all finish the food before it gets cold and then talk?”

When dinner was done and the table and dishes were cleaned, the twelve astronauts sat down to evaluate their progress for the day and plan ahead for tomorrow. An unspoken agreement was passed between them about going to bed early, the day’s exhaustion finally settling in. so after the planning was done and everyone simply got up and slid into their beds, comfortable silence taking over while they prepared for bed or spent some alone time by themselves.

The lights were turned off after a while and soon snoring and whines filled the quiet room as they went to sleep.

Sometime between late night and early morning, Baekhyun felt the bed dip as an extra weight was added on the poor bed. In his asleep state, he only felt firm arms gather him to a sturdy chest and a small promising kiss pressed in his hair before he gave into slumber’s clutches. But even in that state of haziness, Baekhyun had no doubt that the arms and chest belonged to no one but Chanyeol and the thought pulled a smile on his face as he fell back asleep.

“Baekhyun…” Baekhyun stirred awake as Jongdae shook him lightly, “Hyun…wake up!”

“Jongdae…” He whined, hiding his face in Chanyeol’s chest, “Just let me sleep…I am tired as fuck…”

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae hissed, “I have got something to tell you, wake up you bitch.”

“Okay, okay…just five more…” Baekhyun said, sleep taking over before he even finished his speech.

Jongdae sighed, setting the duvet over Baekhyun before exiting the room. He shook his head in disappointment when the others looked at him hopefully.

“Let’s just start without him…He’s too tired and out of it.”

Everyone sighed, going back to work. Seems like they have to go on without another helping hand.

Sometime later, Baekhyun woke up with his pressed against Chanyeol’s chest, arms tight around the taller. For the first few moments, he enjoys the warmth and the comfort but as soon as he turns around and is faced with Jongdae’s unimpressed glare, he turns bright red, arms around Chanyeol falling back as he sits up. A moment later he notices Sehun’s mischievous smile as he has his recorder out and filming the two. His blush only has a second to darken before Jongdae speaks, voice dangerously low,

“Five minutes and I’ll be up huh?” he mutters, “Here we are working our asses off while you are doing what? Cuddling your future husband when like 10 hours ago you were crying about how you should distance yourself from him…” Baekhyun’s blush only deepens as he stares at Jongdae’s collarbone, unable to meet his eyes.

“He’s not gonna be my husband!” Baekhyun shrieks quietly, still mindful of the sleeping male, “And he is so comfortable…I don’t wanna get up once he got his arms around me,” he explains, climbing down from his bed and away from Chanyeol’s arms with a frown.

“Do I look I care?” Jongdae rolls his eyes, “I’ll be generous and give you ten minutes to get your ass down in the hall.” He clicks his fingers and points at Baekhyun, “One second late, and I don’t care if I love you more than I love French fries, I’ll burn your ass.”

With that Jongdae struts out, leaving a frazzled Baekhyun to hurry to freshen up. One thing he has learned from the years of friendship is that Jongdae never lies about burning asses and from his experience he’d like to have a healthy ass, thank you very much.

When he comes down to the mess hall some 5 minutes later, his eyes widen at the flood of streamers and balloons. His nose is immediately assaulted by the magnificent smell of Kyungsoo’s cooking and he just freezes at the bottom of the stairs, watching as Sehun falls off his chair while laughing at Kris’ unsuccessful attempt to calm a panicking Suho.

Finally, Minseok notices him, smirking as he says, “Oh look Sleeping Beauty _was_ able to separate from his Prince Charming after all.”

An undignified huff leaves Baekhyun before he strides up to the table and picks one of the carefully made cupcakes to eat…

Only to have his hand almost broken by Kyungsoo’s tight grip. With a dangerous grin Kyungsoo speaks, “If you touch my babies before you help us finish this shit up, I’ll make sure Chanyeol marries Seungwang.”

Baekhyun’s fingers automatically put the cupcake down as he steps back from Kyungsoo, a fearful look on his face.

In instant Kyungsoo changes, his smile becoming genuinely sweeter as he laughs, “I was just kidding, you can have a cupcake-you can have all of them- but first help us finish the decoration before the giraffe wakes up. It’s his birthday today.” With that he leaves to help Luhan with thePhoenix he is drawing as a birthday gift, leaving Baekhyun to gape as Sehun, Tao and Jongin join forces to laugh at his surprise.

Baekhyun watches as the universal clock ticks to midday. Despite his business preparing for Chanyeol’s birthday celebration, his mind is stuck on the other. Chanyeol barely even sleeps after dawn. As coined by himself, Chanyeol prefers waking with the sun because that way the day is longer and more things can be done. For someone like him to sleep past noon…Baekhyun can’t help but worry.

“What’s on your mind?” Jongdae questions, “You seem out of it…Did you sleep well last night?”

“Ah…yeah…it’s just Chanyeol never sleep past dawn; he’s an awfully early riser and for him to sleep past noon…I’m just worried a little.”

Hearing Baekhyun, Sehun comes forward, “Don’t worry, hyung might be a morning person but after an entire day of tiring work and then an entire night of sleeplessness…that makes even the earliest risers sleep the day away.”

“Shouldn’t we wake him up though? It’s getting late and we gotta properly celebrate him turning 30- well 80- that only come once in a lifetime.” Jongdae suggests, “Our preparations are done too.”

“Yep. We are done.” Suho speaks up, putting the last of the wrappers down after tying his gift for Chanyeol, “Baekhyun go wake him up.”

Baekhyun doesn’t even bother speaking, knowing it will land him upon more teasing about his crush, only nods before he’s bounding upstairs.

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun calls, voice soft as he wakes the taller. After getting no response he tries again, “Yeol…Chanyeol-ah wake up…” Despite shaking the other, he remains unresponsive. When Baekhyun finally gives up and climbs down from the bed, a hand shoots out, pulling him behind and Baekhyun flails, losing balance as he crashes on the bed.

Baekhyun lets out an exasperated huff when Chanyeol’s head pops up in front of him, the other sporting a mischievous smile as he stares at the shorter.

“Well good morning to you.” Baekhyun pouts, shooting the taller a playful glare.

“Mornin’” Chanyeol grins, “How did you sleep?”

“Good.” Baekhyun grins finally, “Very good actually.”

“All thanks to my warmth of course.” Chanyeol’s boyish smirk makes the shorter’s breath catch in his throat.

‘God, why is he so handsome for?’ Baekhyun thinks, staring at the taller in awe.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol questions noticing how Baekhyun had gone quiet, staring at him with unreadable eyes, “You okay?” he asks, cupping the other’s cheeks.

Baekhyun blinks, the trance breaking as he comes back to reality. Immediately his cheeks colour at the closeness of their faces, “Ah…yeah…”

Chanyeol seems unconvinced so he does what he wants; bringing the shorter’s averted gaze to meet his own as he touches their foreheads together. Brushing his nose against Baekhyun’s he asks again, “Baekhyunnie~ tell me what is it?”

The confession is at the tip of his tongue when he sees the genuine worry in the other’s eyes. His eyes by habit scan the other’s face, resting on his plump lips. Before he can do something extreme like kiss the ‘two blushing pilgrims’ as coined by Shakespeare, he averts his eyes, meeting the taller’s own. He gives him a bright smile, looping his arms around the taller’s neck as he nudges his nose with Chanyeol’s.

“It’s better now. Don’t worry.” He says, before he is flipping them over, Chanyeol’s back meeting the bed covers, “Go freshen up now, everyone is waiting for you downstairs.” He grins, quickly pressing his lips on the taller’s forehead before bouncing off the bed and out of the room. He can’t let Chanyeol see the redness on his cheeks and the giddy, unwavering smile on his lips.

The surprise on Chanyeol’s face when he comes downstairs makes laughs bubble out of everyone’s chests. Chanyeol stands, shell shocked as everyone is blowing the party whistles and blasting the balloons, eyes wide as saucers and teary as he watches everyone laugh.

How long has it been since he has had something near to this? The celebration…the fact that his friends remembered his birthday and that the Martians were willing to spend hours helping the Earthians prepare everything…the genuine glee in everyone’s face...even Chanyeol isn’t strong enough to stop the surge of affection that courses through his body.

The Martians move, allowing the Earthians to gather together and that is what the taller was waiting for because in between a moment and the next, Chanyeol has his arms around them, crying his heart out at the pure surprise and affection.

It takes him some pats on his back and encouraging smiles to calm down. After he has, however, he doesn’t hesitate to through himself at the Martians, embracing them with gratitude.

Lastly, when everyone has settled, he pulls Baekhyun in his arms, wrapping his limbs around the shorter to search for comfort.

“Yeol?” Baekhyun questions, feeling the others’ teasing gazes on his skin but barely caring. They can tease him for all he cares, for now, he’s only worried about the man in his arms. “What happened?”

“Thank you.” Chanyeol murmurs in his neck, nuzzling it affectionately, “I just need a moment, otherwise, I’ll cry again.”

Baekhyun laughs, the sound making Chanyeol’s heart bloom and feel full. So full that it shocks Chanyeol. He feels warmth flow through him despite not looking at the other. Only if he could stay like this forever- Baekhyun’s arms like his home, comfortable and cosy.

Of course, that is not possible because the next moment a loud laugh breaks their bubble as both Jongade and Sehun cackles while recording the moment for future blackmail.

“Okay now lover boys, we have to eat and go forward with the rest of the day now.” Luhan breaks them up with a knowing grin of his own, “Chop chop now, your breakfasts are served now.”

With red faces yet undeniable smiles, Chanyeol and Baekhyun sit down, pulling their food closer as the teasing begins.

The rest of the day is spent with alcohol and music; Chanyeol and Yixing playing the guitars that Luhan had brought as a surprise for Chanyeol from the earth while Baekhyun plays the piano, gifted by the Jongin.

Among tipsy laughter and unrestrained teasing and bold approaches, they fail to notice the blue sky turning grey.

When night finally commences, and everyone is fast asleep, Luhan jolts awake, clutching his head and wincing as a wave of images flood through his mind.

Yixing is awakened by his pained groans, sitting up when Luhan cries out.

“Lu? What happened?” He asks, immediately going beside Luhan.

“My head…it hurts…” Luhan whimpers, eyes tearing up as he clutches his head, leaning on Yixing for support. Yixing takes a moment to think before he’s pushing Luhan to lie down, pulling his head in his lap.

“Xing…” Luhan cries as the pain intensifies, clutching his t-shirt as he lets his tears run.

Yixing shushes him, hands lighting up as it caresses his hair, “Where does it hurt the most?”

Luhan’s eyes grow hazy, voice unable to come out as he grips Yixing’s hand and guides it to the back of his head. Nodding in understanding, Yixing lets his magic flow, Luhan letting out a sigh of relief when the pain reduces even slightly. He tries to talk, opening his eyes to look at the male above but before any words can pass his lips, he is pulled back-somewhere inside his mind. The last thing he sees is Yixing’s panicked eyes as he Luhan’s eyes become grey.

_He is lying on the grass, head in Yixing’s lap as the dimpled man animatedly talks and runs his hand through his hair. From far, he can hear boundless laughter as Junmyeon is lifted up in the air, Kris lifting himself as well as he teaches the other how to walk on air._

_The mixture of cold and hot suggests that once again, Chanyeol and Xiumin are having another sparring, the red flames and white snow falling from the sky and yet not touching a hair in his body._

_He relishes in the gust of air that flows through the valley as Sehun creates yet another dance, letting his power flow throughout the land._

_Somewhere behind him and Yixing, Tao and Jongin in working on their theory- what that is Luhan really can’t remember. He thinks it’s something to do with Tao’s question about if Jongin can teleport even if time is frozen._

_He hears Baekhyun’s content sigh when Jongdae massages his shoulders, both watching their husbands play fight for the thousandth time. He hears Junmyeon’s giggle when Kris lifts him up in the air again, this time pulling him forward in his arms so he can kiss him good job. He smells the amazing aroma of Kyungsoo’s food when he brings them out in the yard, calling everyone to dive in._

_He hears Yixing ask if he wants something and he feels himself shake his head, content in his husband’s lap. He doesn’t need to see it when Kai bends down to press his lips on Kyungsoo’s or the shorter’s blush despite being with him for years._

_Luhan only closes his eyes, breathing in, relishing in the feeling of love that surrounds him in the form of his soulmate and his friends._

_Luhan stands away from the scene as he watches himself fall to his knees when Yixing was ripped away from him, the other sending a surge of healing magic to protect his soulmate before the dark claims him and he vanishes. With wide eyes, Luhan watches himself grasping the thread of darkness, screaming his soulmate’s name again and again._

_He doesn’t get harmed but he feels the slam of evil against his counterpart’s back as he falls forward. Away from everything he watches, feet rooted in place as Jongdae strikes down with a bolt of lightning, the dark smoke clearing itself and letting him see the fallen body of Xiumin. He watches as Baekhyun runs, uncaring of the darkness latching onto him as he falls forward, taking Xiumin in his lap and letting his light create an illusion of disappearance. He watches as Luhan coughs, screaming in agony at the intrusion in his mind, and watches as Baekhyun lets his tears fall when he is unable to grasp the remaining thread of Xiumin’s life. He watches as Baekhyun cries when Jongdae falls to his knees, clambering towards them and laying beside his husband, unresponsive, arms tight around the other. Holding onto what he has before grief overtakes him._

_He watches Sehun’s fearful eyes as he sees Kris tumbling to earth and he sees Suho shooting a ball of water for him to fall onto. He sees the desperate attempt Sehun makes to stop Kris’ fall, working his power to create a cushion for Kris. He sees Luhan crawling toward the golden tree as he uses the remaining of his powers to create a shield around it before darkness claims him too._

_He watches the bright flame around Chanyeol fading with every blast he sends toward the increasing, relentless darkness. He watches as Baekhyun comes to stand beside the other, a cover of light protecting his grieving friend. He watches as Chanyeol professes his love for Baekhyun before he is running into the cloud of darkness and he is witness to the large explosion that takes place as Chanyeol releases everything he has, burning himself to nothing. He sees the tears in Baekhyun’s eyes as he whispers goodbye to his husband before turning back to the battle, not having time to even grieve his fallen mate._

_He watches the relieved smile on Junmyeon’s face as he runs in Kris’ arms, letting his water protect them both. Then he witnesses Tao freezing himself while trying to freeze the time and breaking into pieces. He hears Kyungsoo’s scream as Kai teleports but never returns._

_Frozen where he is standing he watches Junmyeon jump in front of Sehun to take the killing blow and sees when Sehun dies too, the next blast claiming him._

_He sees only Baekhyun and Kris standing tall and strong, distraught by the loss of their mates but still fighting on. He sees as they share a glance and then Jongdae is reappearing, slamming a bolt of crackling electricity in the darkness and rendering them defenceless. He sees Kyungsoo run toward the trio, hand holding his orb and he sees as the others pass on their orbs too. He sees Baekhyun cast a spell on Kyungsoo so he can’t be seen as he runs to where Luhan is sure holds the burnt buildings of the labs._

_He sees Baekhyun and Jongdae share a smile before they are running out in the field, both slamming away the darkness with the light of their powers. Then he watches Kris disappear inside the tree and reappear again-this time with the heart in his hands. He is surprised by the sudden appearance of a spacecraft as he watches Kris fly toward it._

_He doesn’t know what happened there…but he does. He knows exactly what Kris is doing. He knows Kris is breaking the heart into two and passing it to the incredulous astronauts. He doesn’t see it but he knows that Kris is telling the twelve astronauts of their new duties now. He hears the exact words spoken by the male in his mind._

_‘You twelve are the new guardians of the universe. My friends- your counterparts they have died in the war today. This war, it’s a losing one; we are unable to save the tree so have its heart among yourselves and pass it on to your descendants and when the time is right, your descendants will return here-to claim back their home. They will wear our faces-they will be the promised guardians-and they will bear the abilities that we have. They will return and from within their souls, they will mend the universe._

_My time has come so I must go,’ Kris says, ‘I am sorry, I am so sorry for enforcing such a cruel task upon your successors, however fate had brought you here so I must pass on the torch to you before I am forced to disappear. ’_

_Luhan sees as Kyungsoo materializes behind Kris with the briefcase from before in his hand, ‘Take these,’ he says in urgency, opening the briefcase, ‘these will grant you our abilities, you will be able to wield the powers we have.’_

_‘Now go,’ Kris says, ‘Don’t give in to the temptation evil and protect the heart at all cost.’_

_‘Never speak a word of our encounter with anyone. If anyone asks, I am certain you can make something up.’ Kyungsoo says before he and Kris give the newly appointed saviours an apologetic smile, ‘Forgive us. We wish you the best for the path to goodness will never be easy but we are certain you will succeed.’_

_With that, Luhan’s focus is brought back to the battlefield as the rocket disappears._

_In the destroyed, burning planet, only four of them stands burning down any darkness that advances, but…how long can they hold on when the darkness only keeps increasing, the ground drying up and the sky pouring._

_He watches as Baekhyun’s light disappears, Jongdae weeping at the loss of his husband and best friends before he too ebbs away. He watches Kris take flight, unwilling to fight for his life-without his other half what is the value of his existence?-and crash into the advancing darkness, disappearing with the darkness as Kyungsoo remains._

_Luhan doesn’t need to be told that Kyungsoo wants to join his friends and reunite with his soulmate but in the burning planet, he remains, taking care of the weeping tree, gold fading to black._

_The scene changes once more and this time Luhan sees a lone spacecraft crash into the planet. With baited breaths, he waits for someone to come out and when the astronaut does…Luhan freezes in fear. Baekhyun._

_He watches as Baekhyun looks around in confusion, the destruction around him making his knees tremble. He watches as Baekhyun tries to contact his base and he watches as Baekhyun roams around helpless._

_He watches an invisible Kyungsoo sit near where Baekhyun is resting, smiling at the other as he reminisces about his friend. Luhan doesn’t even need to think of what Kyungsoo is thinking- he just knows. The prophesized time has come. He watches as Kyungsoo prepares for the inevitable war that will be coming, pushing Baekhyun to the right places. He watches as Kyungsoo writes a letter- a poem with a few lines and then he sees him cast his some sort of spell on Baekhyun whilst he is sleeping. Then he watches him put the letter by Baekhyun and with a touch of their forehead, Kyungsoo finally rests._

_His eyes water when he sees Kyungsoo’s relaxed smile as he fades away, joining the spirits of the eleven other. He watches Kyungsoo weep on his husband’s shoulder as they reunite and he feels a sense of peace for himself._

_He watches the twelve guardians watch over Baekhyun once he awakens half a century later, taking care of the man despite being unseen. His heart twists at the heartbreak on Baekhyun’s face when he realizes that he truly is alone._

_The scene changes again, this time it is a rocket landing on the planet and without wasting a breath Luhan knows its Chanyeol._

_He watches the guardians take care of Chanyeol as well, pushing him to see the Lignum Vitae, urging him to replant the tree and return the planet to its original green. He watches as fifty years pass by and Baekhyun and Chanyeol lose consciousness every month, allowing the guardians to set the next step of their plan into action._

_Then he watches the wary meeting of Chanyeol and Baekhyun and how they grow with each other. When Baekhyun finally shows Chanyeol his power and is accepted wholeheartedly by the taller, he sees the relieved smiles on the light and fire guardians as they share a kiss._

_He watches the days pass and the guardians pushing Baekhyun and Chanyeol towards the burnt buildings, urging them to search and find the first pieces of the new puzzle. He watches as the two searches the area and he smiles when Luhan manipulates Chanyeol into finding the hidden orbs. He watches as the guardians enjoy the two wielder’s days as if watching a movie and watches them rejoice when the rest of the ten prophesized guardians- him and the others- begin their journey for the planet._

_He sees the exact moment when they land, their reunion, the shared laughter- everything. When the five Earthians had gotten used to their powers, he watches the guardians finally rest. He watches as one by one each of them turns into light, leaving the new guardians to save the universe as their jobs were done._

_Another scene change. This time it was the event of earlier today but it isn’t the happiness he sees. What he sees is the blue sky darkening, and shadows starting to form. He sees new chaos, new destruction and this time… the new guardians are weaker. They don’t know they are mates yet, their bonds haven’t settled and despite the obvious attraction, they are still unable to see their bonds. He watches with horror as the events from the beginning take shape again. And he screams but nothing comes out, instead he hears a voice- his own voice telling him to return to the burnt building._

_‘Why’ he asks, ‘We finished surveying the whole area, there is nothing.’_

_The Luhan laughs, ‘Oh there is. Find a door, adorned with our symbols and when you find it, I needn’t tell you what shall be done. You will know. The room holds answers to all your questions. Change your fate, Luhan, you still have time. History cannot repeat itself.’_

_The voice fades as he sees Yixing take a killing blow meant for him. He looks up and sees rainfall of darkness. He sees new chaos- gruesome, cruel chaos and this time it takes shape. Humans. Before he can make sense of everything, however, it fades to black._

Luhan awakes with a jolt, a scream stuck in his throat. He feels the wetness of his cheeks before he opens his eyes, scared to open them in fear of what he might see next. However, one whisper, careful and controlled is all it takes before his eyes are flying open, Yixing’s worried but relieved face coming into view.

As soon as he sees his new found mate, Luhan latches on, sitting up and throwing himself at the dimpled man as he wails- heart at ease to know he is safe and in his arms.

Yixing doesn’t question him, instead, pulls him closer, caressing his back to calm him. The others around them stay unaware, sleeping peacefully and Luhan has feeling Yixing has something to do with it.

In his distraught mind, he doesn’t realize how much time has passed while he clutches his soulmate close, babbling on and on about his dream, unsure of what comes out of his mouth.

He feels the comforting warmth of Yixing healing power seeping into his skin, loosening all the cramped muscles and working to calm him down. After the chaos he had seen, the security of Yixing’s arms is much craved. So he lets himself follow what heart is seeking, climbing on Yixing’s lap as he wraps up himself up in the solace of the other’s unwavering security.

If you ask him what he felt when Luhan fainted, Yixing can only reply with a shudder because the fear he felt bloom when Luhan’s eyes closed and the incessant writhing began…he doesn’t want to remember _ever_. He could only watch helplessly as Luhan whimpers and clutches him in his sleep- the prophecy playing in his mind. Not wanting the others to wake up and panic he puts them into a peaceful sleep, his power allowing him to push sleeping meds in the other’s circulation systems. Alone, he can only run his hands through the telekinetic male as he sleeps in a painful trance.

When he finally sees the other move after the long and painful twenty minutes- actually turn and not writhe he immediately calls out.

“Lu,” he whispers, careful not to startle the man, “Lu…”

Luhan’s eyes fly open and Yixing doesn’t even have enough time to look relieved before Luhan is throwing himself in his arms, wailing uncontrollably. Yixing could only wrap his arms around him, an indescribable pull urging him to as he rubs his hands over the crying male’s back, resting his head on top of Luhan’s, hoping his arms can provide the comfort and security he knows Luhan is seeking.

It takes some time for Luhan to calm down but just breathing Yixing’s comforting scent and the hands on his back are enough for him to stop crying, instead of allowing himself to just rest against his soulmate’s chest.

“Luhan?” Yixing called once he saw Luhan stop quivering, now only sniffing once in a while. Not wanting to burst the bubble they have created around them, Yixing continues rubbing the other’s shoulder, head placed on top the other’s as they relish in each other’s presence. “You okay?”

He feels Luhan nods before pressing his face further into his neck. Without Yixing even knowing, a content smile graces his features as he presses a kiss on top of Luhan’s head.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks carefully, not wanting to pressure the other. “Or should we talk later when everyone’s awake?”

Yixing feels Luhan take a deep breath before he is looking up at him, “I’ll talk about everything later but…” Another deep breath, “There is something I want to talk about. Only with you.”

Yixing nods, giving the other his consent to carry on despite his confusion at the other’s nervous tone.

“Well…what-what I saw just now…it was terrifying.” Luhan starts, explaining to the other of what he envisioned. He tells the other everything, deciding against his words before. From the happy, content scene at the beginning to the fight and the appointment of new guardians. From their identity as the guardians to the fight that is soon approaching and when he goes to the part where he must reveal the meaning of the strong pull they feel against each other, he stops. Unable to talk of it in fear of rejection he sighs.

“We…”

“Luhan…it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, take it easy.”

“No, I need to tell you this.” Luhan answers, “Yixing we…we are soulmates.” He murmurs, hiding his face in the other’s neck, afraid of Yixing’s reaction.

When nothing but silence greets him, courageously he peeks at the other’s face, eyes widening at the awe and utter joy.

“What…” Yixing breathes, looking down and meeting Luhan’s eyes.

More confident at the other’s reaction, Luhan repeats again, “We are soulmates. I am your soulmate and you are mine…In my-”

Honestly, you can’t blame Yixing when he bends out to capture Luhan’s lips in his. He’s been waiting for this- since the first day they met to discuss their mission, the attraction, and the undeniable pull he felt toward the other made him weak in his knees. To finally have a label on the pull…he can’t help but be ecstatic. Adding to that the growing fondness for the other and the new blooming love in his heart, Yixing is way too happy to think of his actions as his lips smother the other.

It takes Luhan a moment to realize what is happening and as soon as it clicks, he has his arms thrown around the other’s neck and lips pressing insistently over the others. Relieved at the other’s response, Luhan gleefully reciprocates the other’s kiss, giggling in it as Yixing smiles.

When they separate, breathless and yet unsatisfied, Luhan teases, “That felt like a lot of frustrations…what do you have to say, Mr Zhang?”

“Baby,” Yixing coddles, laughing at the instant colouring of the other’s cheeks, “You have no idea how much I have wanted to do this. The pull, whatever it may be caused by, attracted me to you like a moth to fire…To finally have a label on it and to know that my feelings are reciprocated,” Yixing laughs, joyous, “I just want to kiss you.”

“What’s stopping you?” Luhan raises his brow, expression innocent yet eyes mischievous, “Clearly not me…”

Yixing only laughs, cradling Luhan before bringing his lips down on the other’s as the sky clears and night fades.

After much kissing and laughing together, with Luhan’s nerves finally settled, Yixing awakens the others as Luhan prepares their breakfast.

As everyone began filing in the mess hall, Yixing asked _his_ soulmate, “Are you gonna tell them now?”

Unable to stop himself, Luhan plants a soft kiss on the taller’s lips, “Yeah, might as well. The sooner we figure this out, the better prepared we will be once the time comes.”

“You have no doubt about your dream?”

“It seemed too real, Xing.” Luhan said, leaning against the other, “As much as the science-y side of my brain wants evidence…I saw everything, I felt the pain of the injuries and…it just seems like the guardians are baring the truth to us so we don’t fail.”

“Okay, I’ll be there if you need support…” Yixing agreed, “You can do it but if it’s too mentally taxing, I’ll force you to stop.”

“Okay soulmate,” Luhan teases, “Reminder I am older than you.”

“Never gonna stop me from being a mom.” Yixing laughs, carrying the rice out in the hall. “Hurry now, it’s gonna get cold.”

On the dinner table, Luhan tells everyone he has seen, the others listening with wide eyes. When he reaches the part about soulmates though, Luhan smirks, eyes all the potential couples sitting together.

“As unbelievable as this sounds…soulmates are real.” Luhan says, mouth curving in a teasing grin, “All of us…we have mates. Jongdae’ and Minseok are already married so they are one we don’t have to worry about bonding and me and Yixing are a thing now…” he says, Yixing lacing their fingers together for everyone to see. “That’s two couples bonded and in love, so less to worry about.”

With nervousness, Baekhyun speaks, “What about the others? Who are their soulmates?”

With a teasing glint in his eyes, he meets Jongdae’s and the Cheshire grin that takes over the other’s features is an open invitation for teasing their favourite couple.

“Well…Kris and Suho are soulmates,” he says, giggling at the instant red that takes over their cheeks as they avert their gazes, “Kyungsoo and Ka-”

“Yes!” Jongin exclaims, “I knew it wasn’t some Earth obsession that was making me attracted to you!”

Kyungsoo gapes, barely believing what he heard before Jongin realizes what he said and the change of colour of his cheeks amuses the others to no end, forcing a laugh out of everyone as Kyungsoo stares at the embarrassed male with wide eyes.

“I told you Soo, he liked you.” Suho exclaims, “Now get together! I can even marry the two of you!”

“First kiss your soulmate before you come at me,” Kyungsoo grumbles, cheeks reddening, “You are older; get married first. You wanted Kris as your husband anyway.”

“W-what?” Kris questions before Kyungsoo is gripping the opportunity to embarrass his leader.

“Oh when he first saw you, Suho hyung was blabbering something along the lines of ‘God I’d genuinely marry him if he asks. He’s just my type.’” With exaggerated hand movements, Kyungsoo lets out a dreamy sigh, “ ’He really gotta be all sort of perfect huh? Tall height, nice hair, good manners, ugly fashion sense but I can ignore that, and his smile. God, I want him, hah!’” he relays, watching as Suho freezes, face turning hot before he is running off, earning bouts of laughter from the others.

“Well, Kris isn’t any different…” Minseok says, “What was it he was saying last week while training?”

“Something along the lines of ‘who allowed him to be so pretty, I just wanna pick him up and kiss him all the time’?” Jongdae replies, “Also something about how nice of a butt he has…”

“God, you are impossible, I’m leaving,” Kris mutters, striding out of the hall.

“Don’t have sex in the bathrooms!” Luhan calls after Kris disappears.

“Shut up!” a chorus of Kris and Suho’s voices is all they get before the two falls silent.

“Next pair of mates!” Jongdae orders, laughing at the nervousness etched on Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s faces.

“Chanyeol soulmate is…” Luhan drags on watching as Baekhyun leans forward impatiently, “Sehun.”

The anticipation on Chanyeol’s face vanishes and Baekhyun’s face falls. Sehun and Tao knowing that it is a lie play along.

“Hyung!” Sehun exclaims, “Oh my God, my soulmate. I knew the love I felt for you was more than the love of a younger brother!”

“Baekhyun hyung! My crush wasn’t a crush! We are soulmates!” Tao exclaims as well, enjoying how Baekhyun literally dims.

“Um…excuse me…” Baekhyun mumbles, getting up from his chair, “I’ll be back in a second…” He walks towards the door, crestfallen, shoulder drooped. Chanyeol looks at him with longing, frown etched on his lips as he feels his heart shatter. He isn’t upset that Sehun is his soulmate, he’s devastated that Baekhyun isn’t.

He loves Sehun, but he can’t ever see himself marrying him and taking him to bed to shower him with love. Hell, just by thinking about it makes him disgusted; Sehun is his younger brother, how can he even think such a thing…

It doesn’t take long for Kyungsoo, Kai, Yixing and Minseok to catch on and when they do, they can only look on, trying their best to not laugh. They share glances, lips curling up and when Baekhyun is at the edge of the threshold, Luhan drops the bomb, doubling over in laughter.

“Baekhyun! You are Chanyeol’s soulmate!” Luhan laughs, “I was asking Sehun to tell you, not that Sehun is Chanyeol’s mate!”

Baekhyun freezes. It pulls a wince out of Minseok with the way Baekhyun turns his head, eyes alight with hope. Chanyeol’s jaws drop before he is getting out of his chair and running over to Baekhyun, arms wide for Baekhyun to fall into. When Baekhyun stays rooted in his place, Chanyeol pulls him in, wrapping his arms around the shorter as he sighs in relief.

The others burst into laughter, slapping the table and holding on to each other as to not fall off.

“Your-oh my god, the expressions on your faces…”Jongdae wheezes, “I can’t-”

“God, I can’t believe what I said.” Sehun crows, “Me and the giraffe? Lol no. The things I need to do for my job…”

Chanyeol is too happy with the fact that Baekhyun _is_ his soulmate to care what is happening in the background. He burrows his face in his spot in Baekkhyun’s neck. (Yes his spot, that spot is where he always puts his head when he hugs the shorter.)

“You-Baekhyunnie…my soulmate is you…” Chanyeol giggled as the divulgence settles in. The love of his life is his soulmate, not Sehun, not anyone else but Baekhyun.

Baekhyun doesn’t expect the squeal that comes out from him as he wraps his arms around Chanyeol, the two of them creating their own bubble around them as they celebrate, unmindful of the knowing glances thrown at them.

After a while, Suho and Kris come back and Chanyeol and Baekhyun separate, for once shameless to show their love for each other.

“Sooooo?” Luhan drawls, grinning, “What is the verdict?”

Sehun begins first, “Tao and I…we have got stuff going on since before hyung left; it’s not a problem for us if we turn out as soulmates…”

“Yep, I am actually glad it’s him and not one of you, no offence, all of you are like my brothers, it’d be weird if we turned out to be soulmates.”

“What-“ Suho begins, before he pinches his nose and sighs, “You know what I can’t even be bothered anymore, do whatever you children want.”

“Honestly,” Kris adds on,“ Just do it in privacy and we’ll be fine.”

“Anyway, back to my question.” Luhan says, “Your opinion, Jongin and Soo?”

“I am fine with it of course,” Jongin exclaims, looking at Kyungsoo expectantly.

“I am fine with it too. At least it’s him.”

“We are married so it’s not even a question,” Minseok says once Luhan looks at them.

Yixing smiles, “Good to know everyone is settled with their soulmates. That wasn’t as hard as I expected so that’s good.”

“You never asked us?” Kris questions, pointing at him and Suho and Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“With Baekhyun and Chanyeol, we shouldn’t even bother after the show they put on and you…You wanted to marry Jun anyway.”

They discuss Luhan’s dream for the remainder of the day, coming up with ideas and possible solutions. By the end of it, they decide to travel back to the stations to search for the door Luhan was told about.

Baekhyun was speechless when he learnt that the letter he found was given by no one else but Kyungsoo’s predecessor.

When all had been done and plans had been settled the newly appointed guardians called it a day, going to bed for the whole day tomorrow will be spent excavating.

No one noticed the signs of wither in the trees outside.

Somewhere between midnight and dawn, Yixing is awakened from his slumber. The knot in his stomach only tightens when he feels an unfamiliar feeling crawl up in arms, invisible yet persistent. His heart thunders in his chest and he feels cold sweat begin to form on his forehead. Even in his sleep-hazed mind, he knows something is wrong and fear grips his mind when he turns to find Luhan’s bed empty. He jumps to his feet, whispering his mate’s name, careful not to wake the others.

He sees a shadow pass and without even processing, he runs in that direction. He finds Luhan staring out the window in the mess hall and sighs in relief. Except it doesn’t last long when Luhan remains unresponsive.

“Lu?” Yixing asks, cautious, shaking the other when he gets no response. “Hey look at me… what happened?”

The three words that leave Luhan’s lips, however, makes him stumble, eyes growing wide and shiver running down his body.

“They are here.”

Yixing doesn’t even bother asking Luhan for confirmation, only picks up the older and sits him down on a chair before he is running upstairs to wake the others.

“Wake up.” He all but screams, haphazardly getting his suitcase out to pack necessities. “Everyone get up!”

Suho is the first to wake and confusion mars his face once he sees Yixing throw medicines and orbs in his suitcase, eyes panicked and terrified, “Wha- Yixing what’s going on?”

Yixing doesn’t reply, running downstairs to get their weapons- guns and daggers they never thought would be needed. Junmyeon, thankfully, gets up and follows the male, stopping him for a second to get the wind of the situation.

“Yixing- Xing stop.” He orders, “Calm down, what happened?”

“They are here,” Yixing says before he carries on with packing hurriedly. “Jun, wake the others, Luhan said they are here and we got to get to the door before something fatal happens.”

Yixing urges running back upstairs to get the suitcase, “We don’t have time for the shock. Wake the others; throw me your necessities, _go._ ”

Junmyeon broke out of his trance, shaking his head as he went upstairs, still having doubts but not pursuing them once he saw how Luhan had been frozen in his seat with wide eyes.

They didn’t need to be told twice when Junmyeon’s urgent voice told them to wake up and get ready. Within minutes everyone had freshened up, geared up in their work outfits and gathered downstairs.

“What’s going on?” Kris asks, watching Luhan frozen in his spot and Yixing and Junmyeon run around the base, worry cast on their faces.

When they didn’t get a response, Tao approached Luhan, “Ge…what happened?”

Lightly shaking the shell shocked male, Tao repeated his question, holding the older’s hand to comfort him.

“Hyung…tell us please?”

As if woken from a fitful sleep, Luhan jerked, blinking, “What- what’s happening?”

“We don’t know…Did you see something? Jun hyung woke us up…”

Luhan blinked again, closing his eyes to process his surroundings before his eyes shot open. He looked at the others, standing worriedly, fidgeting.

“They are coming. We don’t have much time left, they are coming.”

“Wh- our enemies?” Chanyeol questioned, fear gripping him when Luhan nodded.

“We don’t have much time left. We need to find the door and we need to figure everything out before they are here. We need to leave now.” Luhan said hurriedly, standing up, “Get ready, we should leave now.”

“Lu… calm our dear, we are all ready, I have set your uniform on my bed, go get changed while we prepare to leave.” Yixing said, appearing behind Luhan and rubbing his shoulders comfortingly to calm him. He guided Luhan to the stairs, watching as the older hurried upstairs before turning towards the rest of the team.

“Whatever he saw…it shook him to the core. Right now we should tread the waters carefully and let him calm down before asking further questions.”

When everyone nodded in understanding, he continued, “I have laid out all the weapons we have…” he pointed at the machines laid neatly on the ground, “Have your choice. There should be enough for two each and test them out so, in danger, we are not faced with more trouble.”

By the time Luhan came down, everyone had picked the weapons they are most familiar with, saving a few for backup. Looking much calmer, Luhan nodded, “Sorry…for the scare just then…I got stuck in my head.”

“It’s okay, hyung.” Jongdae smiled, “At least we are prepared now.”

“Did you foresee something again?” Yixing asked as he passed Luhan a pair of daggers and a gun.

“I just…had a weird feeling waking me up. When I came downstairs to get some water, the sky was unnaturally dark and the trees in front of the base were black.”

Hearing Luhan, Sehun ran to look  out the window and he gulped when he saw the state of the green planet, “Hyung…it’s not just the trees…outside-everything is black…”

Everyone ran to the window, eyes widening as they took in the scene outside. Where tall, green conifers stood is now covered with a grim black, the sky weeping at the terrifying change that took place within a few hours. As if on instinct, the guardians turned to look at the Lignum Vitae, letting out a chorus of relieved sighs when the magnificent structure of nature stood tall, green leaves still vibrant.

“We have less time than what we imagined,” Kris voices, “We need to get going now.”

“But how it will take some time to get there, we can’t afford to lose time.”

“I can teleport us there.” Jongin says, coming forward, “I can’t teleport all us there at the same time though.”

“But wouldn’t that tire you out?” Kyungsoo worries.

“I’ll be fine, it’s nothing extreme.” Jongin smiles, “Divide into groups in three and I’ll take you there.”

The rest of the team shuffles quickly, dividing into four groups of three. “Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Sehun go first. You two are the most familiar with the buildings.”

As Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Sehun is teleported inside the building, Tao keeps a watch through the window, looking for any dangers that may be lurking.

“Listen, her,” Luhan calls for Kris and Junmyeon’s attention. “You two are the leaders so when we get there you two should take the lead. We need to keep an eye on the Lignum Vitae as well because if that’s destroyed, well you know the consequences.”

Junmyeon and Kris nods, squaring up as Jongin reappears and takes their hands.

It takes a few more minutes for Jongin to transport everyone to the ruined buildings but as soon as the twelve of them are there, Chanyeol speaks up,

“Baekhyun thinks he has an idea where the gate is.”

When everyone looks at him, Baekhyun nods, “The door you saw…it had our symbols all over it didn’t it?”

Luhan nods.

“The room I found all the orbs were also decorated with our symbols.” Baekhyun says, “If we look around that room, I am sure we’ll find the gate.”

“Okay, lead the way.” Luhan nods, wincing lightly when his head buzzes, “I am getting something…” Luhan closes his eyes, trying to clear out the image he sees images of a distant memory flash in his mind. When he reopens them, a gasp is torn out of everyone’s throats as they stare at the telekinetic male.

Luhan’s eyes…

They were silver, flecked with gold.

“We gave you time to settle,” Luhan speaks, the voice familiar yet foreign, “We cannot hold the lines any longer.”

“Luhan?” Yixing questions, lightly touching his mate’s shoulder.

“Listen carefully,” The silver in his eyes flashed, “We cannot divert them any longer, now that the tree of life is back to its full potential, we can’t veil it anymore. The evil- they have started for the planet again, this time they wouldn’t stop until the tree is completely obliterated. They want to create a new universe- a universe of suffering and pain. You- the twelve of you are the universe’s last hope.”

“Follow your instincts; only then can you find the hidden gate on time.” Luhan-the other Luhan, smiles, “As you grow, we are fading. By the time you would have found the answers…we wouldn’t be here any longer…our duty to the universe is done. Protecting the new guardians were never something we were given but this war you’ll go into…you may not come out alive, so we stayed, despite being pulled to the place above the rainbow, we stayed to show you the way and now that you have found it, we must leave.”

“We believe in you, Lignum Vitae trusts you and you share an impeccable bond…Win the war, Guardians, this is the first and last one you’ll ever fight so make sure, you win. We will hold them back until we fade, so hurry along. Good luck.”

With that, the silver in Luhan’s eyes fades, the natural brown returning, before he tumbles into Yixing’s waiting arms.

Heeding by the words spoken by the previous guardian, the new protectors hurry along the corridor to the room that contained their power orbs, Yixing easily carrying an unconscious Luhan.

Baekhyun glances at his soulmate, watching as the other leads the team into the room, ordering them to spread and search. Chanyeol catches his eyes, giving him a reassuring smile despite the storm of fear Baekhyun knows is raging inside him.

Taking the initiative, Baekhyun gets out in the corridor, looking inside the other rooms. Halfway, Chanyeol joins him and without words, they carry on their search, a silent promise of protection surrounding them.

“Baekhyun…” Chanyeol calls, finally breaking the silence, “Can I talk to you? For a second?”

Baekhyun nods, isolating them with a burst of light to protect their privacy, just knowing what is coming.

“Well…first of all, thank you so much for being with me for the past 20-25 years. Despite how I treated you at the beginning, you remained by my side and for that, I am forever grateful…without you, I don’t even know if I would be alive now…” Chanyeol says. Baekhyun lets him speak, lets him pour his heart out.

“Thank you for being selfless and patient and thank you for changing my view on Mars. Thank you for teaching me how to use and control my fire. Thank you for making me laugh on days when I just wanted to weep and for holding me on sleepless nights. Thank you for listening to me and sharing your mind.”

“I- When I first felt my fondness grow for you, I thought it was because we were the only ones here. Then it kept growing and I doubted it was because you were so kind and patient. I thought once I go back, all the feelings would fade as well. But when the time came and our friends landed…I didn’t want to go back in fear that I might have to let you go. Then we stayed and I saw you smile brighter, laugh louder and just become happier, surrounded by your brothers and mine too. Then the question crossed my mind, what is it that I feel?”

“Every moment we got closer, I felt drawn to you more and more. The urge to hide you away and hold you forever…they scared me. I thought it was the lonely bond we created while being alone and in need of a companion.

Then yesterday, Luhan hyung- when he revealed the soulmates, I felt my heart shatter to pieces, not because Sehun was my soulmate but because you weren’t. I felt tears prick my eyes and the relief I felt when they told us it was a prank…it was overwhelming. Then the realization that you are my soulmate…the joy I felt is unparalleled. Last night I thought, was it the soulmate bond that made me feel so intimate with you?

It wasn’t. I realized even before we were told that we were soulmates, that I…liked you. For your personality, your patience, your kindness, your acceptance, because of you and nothing else. Just because you were Baekhyun.

I wanted to stall my confession, maybe after we are done with everything. I know this is sudden, very sudden- even I am surprised that I’m doing it but I don’t know if I will live through it.”  Chanyeol rests his forehead against the shorter’s, smiling at the bewilderment in his eyes,

“I don’t know if you’ll survive so before we go down to the battlefield…I want you to know that I love you and it’s not a whim, a fading feeling, it’s strong and vibrant and _clear_ that I love you. If we survive this, I promise I will treat you to dates, show you just how much I love you but until then…” He nudges the other’s nose, “Be mine?”

Baekhyun stares at the other, Chanyeol holding his eye-contact for as long as Baekhyun stares. Looking at the growing nervousness despite Chanyeol’s confident stance, Baekhyun couldn’t help the giggle that came out of his lips as he threw his arms around the taller’s neck and pressed his lips on the other’s.

Chanyeol let out a yelp of surprise before wrapping his own arms around the shorter as he returns the kiss. After so much pining and so much doubt, to finally be in each other’s arms…the two can’t stop the smile that forms on their lips.

“Hey, soulmate?” Baekhyun says while Chanyeol presses soft kisses all over his face, “It’s not an ‘if’, we _will_ win.”

Chanyeol hums, nuzzling the shorter.

“Soulmate?” Chanyeol hums, “I love you too.”

When they return back to the room, everyone is looking at them with knowing eyes, shit-eating grins gracing their features.

“And, here we have our favourite couple finally together!” Jongdae and Sehun choruses, “Exactly 24 years, 3 months and 12 days for them to realize that they love each other!”

The new lovers ignore them; opting to ask a smirking Kyungsoo, “Did we find the door?”

“I don’t know about you but while you were eating each other’s faces, the ten of us did find a golden gate decorated with twelve symbols.”

That gets a blush out of the two as they mumble a soft ‘sorry.’ Kyungsoo dismisses it, laughing softly.

“We are joking, but yeah we need to get going now because time’s ticking.” He says, calling for Jongin to teleport them inside the hidden chamber.

The golden door hides a library, the team of twelve finds. Not just any library, but a vast, unrealistic one. With golden lights swirling, providing a mean to see and glass tables and high ceiling made of granite. From bookshelves made of what can only be opal to the lines of the book with crystal binders, the place was magical-something straight out of a fantasy.

But was caught their attention was the golden trunk of a tree. Sharing awed glances, the group advances the trunk, watching the root shine and sparkle. With a start, they realize it was the root of the tree that kept the universe alive. It was the root of the Tree of Life. The magical root urged them closer, urged them to touch it. Sharing another glance, the team silently agreed to give in to the temptation. After all, what could happen just by touching the root of a magical plant?

As their fingers made contact with the trunk, they felt the surge of something magical, something familiar yet foreign, weird but not unwelcomed.

Then they were pulled in.

_With gaping mouths, they watched as a creature played with something-something that they couldn’t decipher. The creature was unlike anything they have ever seen, whether on earth or mars. They watched as the creature sat on clouds and played with the string of black. Unknown to the creature, the thread ripped-allowing darkness to split in two as well and when it realized the string is broken, without much of a glance it threw the two pieces down._

_Down, down and down it went, the string of darkness, growing into something decipherable yet unknown as it went down. Then it landed, softly, graciously in front of what could only be described as a world of fantasy. Slowly it changed it's form, from gusts of darkness to a humanlike creation._

_The twelve guardians watched as it knocked on a door, decorated with jewels and crystals. With baited breaths they watched a male opened the door, eyes widening and jaws dropping once they see the face of the male._

_It was a face too familiar. It was the face of one of their own._

_They watched as the God of Matter, Void and Place smiled and welcomed the creature in and they watched the scream that he let out when it entered-not the door but his body._

_The scene shifted, showing a worried God of Earth and Strength looking around. They watch as the God of Frost and Ice approaches him, watches them as they talk and then watched the God of Earth sigh in relief when he sees the God of Place, unknown to what resides inside the taller._

_They watch as the Ice God and God of Void exchanges pleasantries, laughing at something. They watch as the Earth God and God of Void bids the male goodbye, going inside their own home._

_The God of Earth sits at his table, working diligently at his creation. They watch as the God of Matter comes behind the shorter, taking a keen interest in what the other is working on. Except it was not the God that was taking a keen interest-it was the creature that now manifested in his soul._

_‘Us.’ God of Earth says, showing the doll he has made, ‘I want to make living beings in our image.’_

_‘Why?’ the being asks._

_‘Being alone in the void…it doesn’t feel as good as it did…I want to make beings who I will breathe life into and take care.’_

_‘What will the others say?’_

_‘What can they say? They are mere peasants while we are the rulers of heaven, they must listen to what I say.’_

_‘What about brothers? Would they agree?’_

_‘They would, for these beings would have all of us inside them. To guide them and lead them to greatness.’_

_The scene changes once again, this time the dispute between the rulers of heaven and their people. A slight disagreement which was supposed to end with an argument and promise to resolve the conflict peacefully ended, instead, with bloodshed. The creature that took over the God of Void and Places fed on the chaos, fuelling it further and further until all string snapped and an ambush was launched upon the rulers who unaware in their sleep was assassinated cruelly and in cold blood-courtesy of the darkness that corrupted the minds of all._

_All except two rulers were killed. The uncontrolled side of the possessed God was able to fight off the evil influence, allowing the two Gods to flee before he took his own life._

_When the Gods were gone, evil started gathering its followers. As the two surviving God hid, the evil indoctrinated every soul and when it had enough of ruining heaven, it remembered Kyungsoo’s creation._

_So it hatched a plan, to steal knowledge from the heavenly library and learn how to breathe life into each of the beings._

_Learning of the evil’s plan, the Earth God became frantic, working endlessly to prevent it from reaching its goal. He and the other surviving ruler-the God of Light- hatched a plan of their own._

_They’d create a new universe from scratch. They would create a paradise with the creations of the God of Earth. So, on they went with their plan, breathing life into the lifeless dolls and create what the twelve guardians know as humans._

_In hopes that humans would not be influenced by evil, the two remaining God’s gave humans the ability to choose for themselves. Then one night, out of nowhere, The God of Strength vanished. The Light God looked and looked but all he can find is the bracelet he had given to the other when they were still young._

_After that, the Light God took over the other God’s job, taking care of their creations and keeping them away from evil’s influence._

_All was going well and the human race was expanding well and pure but then evil attacked. One day, in the form of a snake, the evil tempted a pair of lovers to eat a fruit cursed by darkness. When they did, evil was given easy access to the human world and using that to its opportunity, the evil corrupted the creations of the two Gods._

_The Light God, realizing what had happened, immediately jumped into action. Weakened by the war that took place in heaven, he realized, he cannot face the strong forces of evil by himself. So in a desperate attempt, under the guise of a new follower for evil, he re-entered heaven, looking for the hearts of his deceased friends. When he had found them, he didn’t waste a moment as he stole them and hurried back to his hiding spot._

_With much effort and hundreds of tries, he managed to break each heart in two, tearing his own out of his chest to complete his plan. Then he merged each part of the hearts with another from a different God._

_With the Fire God’s he merged his, honouring their promise of being together even when death claims them. With the God of Earth and Strength, he merged the one of the God of Matter, Void and Place, knowing that is the only being his friend had willingly adored. With the Thunder God, he merged the Ice God’s knowing how much the two would have loved to pursue a relationship together. With the God of Time, he merged the heart of the God of Air, admiring how deep their friendship always had been.  With the God of Healing, he merged the heart of the God of Minds. Finally, with the God of Sky, he merged the heart of the Water God. They didn’t have any form of a relationship unlike the other God’s but one thing they shared clearly was their leadership and mutual respect so the living God saw it valid to merge the heart of the two Gods together._

_The merging of the hearts was to make the creations stronger so they aren’t easily swayed by evil or when one of them is harmed, the other part of their heart-inside the other being will keep them going will keep them alive._

_When the new hearts have been formed, the Light God took out the twelve dolls God of Earth and Strength had made in honour of the twelve Lords of Heaven. Splitting image of each God, it was easy for living God to see which dolls signified which God. When he had perfected the dolls to represent a heavenly figure as the initial rulers were, he breathed life into them, inserting the hearts he had made into them._

_The Light God got weaker and weaker as days passed without his heart and so knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep watch on humans much longer, he created the orbs- small balls, the shape of a sphere that contained the magical abilities of each God._

_Then with the last remaining drops of his power, he created the magnificent Tree of Life. He gave the twelve creations who were not deities and not human the ability to think for themselves so that they can protect the tree. Then, unlike with humans, the God of Light made the guardians resistant to evil._

_He tasked them to protect the tree of life which contained all his powers and the powers of the other eleven Gods. He warned them of an incoming evil which will corrupt the soul of the tree and destroy the universe. As the Lignum Vitae was the sole bearer of the universe, the Guardians were told to do anything, sacrifice themselves and even cause atrocities that were the call of evil just to defend it._

_The new guardians watched as the God of Light and Hope withered away day by day as he lost his resistance to evil and slowly but surely the downfall of the other Gods, was the cause of the downfall for the Light God too._

_The guardians protected the tree for millennia even when evil corrupted mankind and made them worship war and hatred and false idols than the ones who gave them life. When evil was bored with playing with humans, it decided to destroy the universe as a whole and re-build it, this time without any ounce of hope._

_So it set out with its indoctrinated minions to destroy the Lignum Vitae whose destruction would cause all the remaining good in the universe to dwindle out and it can finally rein in peace._

_The first time, evil was easily defeated. The second time, the guardians needed to break the heart of the Lignum Vitae in half and hide it to protect it. The third time was the most fatal of all as the guardians fell one by one. However before all was lost, they gave the heart to twelve wandering souls, purifying them, giving them the ability they bear and passing on the responsibility as guardians to them before they perished._

_The humans hid the heart well, passing on years after years in their bloodline, waiting for the prophesized day would come when they return home with the heart of the universe to restore the balance and banish evil for all._

_The time finally came when twelve boys were born, in the image of the Gods. The prophecized Guardians had been reborn. Years later, evil realizing that the promised time had come, set out to destroy the new guardians who recently reunited so that he can fulfil the wish of his cruel heart and re-create a universe filled with hatred, grief and suffering._

Hearing of it from a book or listening about it from Luhan was one thing but to see it with their own eyes and to experience every feeling that the Gods felt-the pain, the hope, everything- it was overwhelming.

When the vision faded and the new guardians were thrust back to reality, all they could pant, eyes wide and disbelieving.

They shared glances with each other, unspoken words passed through eyes. This was all the answers they were looking for. The mystery of the planet-their home- and their abilities were finally laid bare. Unbelievable. That was what passed through the twelve guardians’ minds. Unbelievable. A piece of fiction that was- a piece of fiction that somehow was the reality, that somehow held the answers to all their questions.

They are Gods- at least once millennia and millennia ago, when the universe was still fresh, they were Gods. The ones who birthed the universe. Now they are the guardians responsible for protecting their creation.  

Calming their throbbing hearts seemed to require a lot more effort than thought, mind still racing and processing what they just saw.

“I-” Kris panted after a while, “This- _we_ were responsible for _creating_ the universe?”

“I am not even sure if we are even awake anymore…” Sehun groaned, “This is literally like a dream, there is no way any of this is real.”

“But it matches well with the account written in the book and what Luhan dreamt.” Suho points out, “As unbelievable as it is, I just have a feeling these are the answers we were looking for.”

“It is…” Luhan answers, “No matter how hard it is to believe it, these are the answers to our dilemmas. There is no point denying it.”

“So now?” Kyungsoo questions, “What are we supposed to do now?”

“Find what Luhan was told to…” Baekhyun says, “The weapon that would help us defeat evil.”

“How do we do it?” Minseok asks, “We don’t have the time to read all these books and we also need to come up with a battle plan before they arrive.”

“Min’s right.” Jongdae inputs, “Even with the twelve of us, skimming through all these books, let alone read through is impossible. We don’t have the time or the patience.”

“I don’t know how much this is gonna work, but Luhan-the spirit- told us to follow our instincts. So we can I don’t start looking through the books and whatever pulls us, we can check them out…” Chanyeol suggests.

“I agree,” Yixing says, “It’s better than to just stand here and do nothing.”

“Okay then…” Kris says, “Baekhyun, Jongdae and Minseok take the right.” He points towards the shelves he wants the three friends to look through, ”Me and Suho can take the middle sections, Yixing, Tao and Chanyeol take the shelves to the centre-left, Kyungsoo, Kai and Sehun take the left shelves.”

“Um…” Kai raised his hand, “How are we supposed to reach up there?”

Kris quietened, furrowing his brows as he thinks, “I can lift you up or get the books for you.”

“Okay then” Suho takes the lead, “Let’s get going.”

Fascination thrummed through Baekhyun’s blood as he pulled a book out of his section of the shelf, skimming through it with awe.

The book was written in symbols that Baekhyun had no idea said but as his eyes skimmed through the ancient text, he realized he can decipher the meaning. The text seems familiar, which wasn’t much of a surprise to the male (He probably wrote them in his lifetime as Heaven’s ruler or something), but his ability to easily remember the meaning of each symbol and being able to decipher what the text says surprised him.

If being a guardian meant he could not only read books-so many books- about the start of the universe but also decipher an ancient, long lost language, he wasn’t one to complain.

“Look at Baekhyun…” Jongdae giggled, “He is literally in his personal heaven right now, that nerd.”

Minseok laughed, “We probably gonna have to drag him out of here if this carries on, he’s literally gobbling up all the books.”

“I know,” Jongdae laughed, picking out a book for him, “How is he reading this? This is some ancient language.”

“Let’s see,” Minseok looked over Jongdae to the book in his hand, eyes skimming over the symbols, “I can decipher it.”

“What?” Jongdae exclaimed, looking down at the text again, “How-wait, so can I, what?”

“Dae, calm down.” Minseok laughed, pecking the other’s neck, “It’s probably because we are the reincarnation of the Gods and all that…we are familiar with it and who knows, we probably wrote it even.”

“Makes sense but…it’s weird to just know how to read a set of alphabets you have practically never seen in your life.”

“What are you whining about again?” Kyungsoo approaches the couple.

“Oh, just some ancient text that we have never seen in our life but can somehow read and understand,” Minseok explains, ”Just the usual you know.”

Kyungsoo sighs, “Well now that you can, start reading…we need to be done before they come and we don’t even know when they will.”

“We are,” Jongdae scoffs, carrying the book to one of the glass tables, “Go finish your sections now.”

The twelve guardians worked quietly, for the most part, indulging in the knowledge they were adhering from the pages of the ancient texts, mind collecting the wisdom provided by the books for any future need.

“I think I found something!” Tao’s exclamation pulled everyone out of their trance, the male giving everyone a broad smile, “Look!”

Hurriedly everyone gathered around where Tao is sitting with a book open in his lap.

“What?” Jongin asks, bending down so he can see the content.

“It says something about a lock,” Tao points at some of the symbols, “A lock of love and trust…A world of chaos…fights…paradise…” he reads, “I can’t figure out some of the symbols...”

“Give it to me,” Baekhyun asks, taking the book from Tao’s hand as he sits down beside the taller. He concentrates on the symbols, searching his brain for any possible key to decipher its message.

“It…In a…void?” he reads out, “In a void, when…time and space still didn’t exist and heaven wasn’t created, existed a shell of darkness…then the shell broke and from within it came out light, brightening… the void.”

“What?” Sehun questions, “There’s even more to the story?”

“It seems so,” Kyungsoo replied, “Baekhyun, carry on.”

“The void lighted up, compressing the dark into a small shell as twelve figures of light came out and created the universe…” Baekhyun read, “Locked away, the dark manifested itself into something that is nothing like the goodness born of it before. It collected its pain and suffering for millennia of being trapped and fed on any cry of pain from the outside, from the paradise created by the twelve light figures and when…it was strong… when it was strong enough it took a shape, breaking out of the shell and into the void…it kept away from the void in..fear…fear of getting destroyed…but then he gave in to the temptation of light and as it approached the light, the twelve figures saw it and in anger…locked it away into…a string…a creature made of strings?”

“Creature of string? Chanyeol speaks up, “Does anything like that even exist?”

“They are Gods…pretty sure they can make stuff like that.” Kris deadpans, “Baek, carry on.”

“Then, it basically says that evil grew from the grief of the darkness and when the string snapped, it came back for revenge…”

“What does it say about how to defeat it?”

“It says that it was the Light Gods that locked it up…but not how…wait…to lock the darkness away from the heavenly light the God of Light created a shield around paradise that could only be breached when one of the twelve rulers willingly invites the darkness back in…”

“Light Gods? But only you possess the power of light?” Jongin asks.

“No,” Luhan replies, “Yixing is one too.”

“What? How?”

“Because my power is healing…which uses light as a source…meaning I have the power of light but use it in a different way than Baekhyun.” Yixing replies, brows furrowed in thought. “But around what are we going to form a shield? Evil is blended in every aspect of our lives, scattered around the universe.”

“You don’t put a shield around the evil…you put the shield around the Lignum Vitae so when evil comes…you don’t need to worry about protecting the tree because it will be untouchable…” Suho suggests

“How to create the shield? Do you just blast magic at it?” Sehun questions.

“Since there’s so much emphasis on goodness and light, I think to create it…you need to have good intentions…pure intentions and…I don’t know, fuse Yixing and Baekhyun’s powers?” Jongdae suggests.

“Sounds valid…” Minseok says, “We can try doing that, I mean we’d never know if we don’t try and we barely have any time left.”

“Let’s go then.” Baekhyun says, getting up, “Let’s try doing that.”

The twelve of them gather in front of the Lignum Vitae, teleported out by Jongin, looking up at the magnificent tree that supposedly holds the heart of the universe.

“Let’s do it.” Baekhyun sighs, pushing down his nervousness.

“Yeah…” Yixing lets out a deep breath before going to stand by Baekhyun’s side as they both close their eyes to channel their powers from the deepest kernels of their minds and souls.

The others, watch from a safe distance as the two Light bearers slowly light up, flames of white and gold seeping out of their skins as they channel all their might. They watch as the two of them intertwine their hands and their powers fuse into a mesmerizing gold. The light begins to seep out, slowly but surely joining together before the two wielders push every last drop of it out of their body.

Blinding light pours out as with an explosion, Baekhyun and Yixing push their powers to form the shape of a shield, completely engulfing the Lignum Vitae in the white bursts.

Slowly the shield takes shape, piece by piece, it forms. With wide eyes, the rest of the guardians watch as the green tree changes as the shield forms around it. The vibrant and calming green fades to white before it is changing into a bold golden. Its real form, they realize. The golden- bold and blazing snatches their breaths and as each block of the shield is built, it only becomes brighter. Each pass of light only turns the golden more and bolder.

With all of their focus on the magic playing in front of them, they were unprepared for the sudden earthquake that occurred, knocking them off their feet.

Concentration broken by the shaking of the earth, Baekhyun and Yixing halted their creation of the shield as they tried to not lose balance. The shaking didn’t stop and instead got more and more deadly, forcing the barely balanced guardians to tumble to the ground. Then three inseparable events took place one after another.

First the sky blackened-the blackness of pollution and smoke. Then sounded the engines of machines-space craft to be specific. The engine roared, tearing the usual quietness of the planet. The deadliest of all, the ground split.

The shaking didn’t stop but instead intensified, making the minor gaps bigger and bigger before with a loud groan the earth between the Lignum Vitae and the twelve guardians separated.

Unfinished and weak, the bonds between the shield broke, the armour losing its brightness with each snap of the bonds that held the creation together. The ablaze golden of the leaves of the tree of life began to fade and the guardians, with minds still confused, could only look on while trying to process the happenings as the planet lighted up in flames.

As the realization set in, the guardians watched with horror as a missile was launched from the aircraft. Not targeted at them but the Tree of Life. Barely, Jongdae managed to shoot a bolt of thunder at the missile, hitting the advancing weapon barely but enough as it burst into flames, disintegrating mid-air.

They were barely given time before another was sent, this time managing to hit a part of the tree as it crashed. Instantly, Yixing jumped to damage control, trying best to stop the fire as it spread over the root.

Then the spacecraft vanished. Just like that, with two missiles shot aimed at the tree, they vanished, the earthquake stopping with them.

Taking a second to calm his haywire nerves, Chanyeol sprinted to where his soulmate and Yixing is trying their best to stop the fire and heal the damaged roots of the Lignum Vitae.

“Move.” He ordered, channelling his power as he touched the burning part. Thankfully, the fire was put off easily, the damage pretty minor as well as Yixing hurried to heal the part.

Meanwhile, Kyungsoo was trying his best to sew the rip in the ground without much success. Even with Tao’s help, he was unable to fix the rip, cursing aloud at his failure.

“The ground isn’t going back together; it’s recoiling from my power…” he said, desperately attempting to stop from the rip from worsening further.

“Kyungsoo,” Jongin knelt down beside his mate, taking the other’s hand in his as he rubbed soothing circles on his palm to calm him, “It’s okay, Tao’s frozen it. It’s okay.”

Kyungsoo leaned back, letting Jongin bear his weight as he took deep breathes. “What just happened?”

His question only earned clueless and panicked frowns from the others. Everyone was still shell-shocked, still processing the sudden attack that took place. Quietly, everyone caught their breaths before Baekhyun cried out.

“The shield! It’s fading!”

Hurriedly everyone looked at the withering armour as Baekhyun tried to stop his hard work from disappearing. Yixing joined in, panting in excursion as he let his power mingle with Baekhyun’s trying to recover the shield back to its original state.

Already spent, the attempt to reform the shield was much weaker, the two light bearers unable to carry on as exhaustion took over them. Falling on his knees, Yixing cried out in frustration, attempting to channel his fading abilities.

Watching his mate lose control, Luhan ran up to him, going down on his knees in front of him as he cupped the other’s face, “Yixing…stop. Stop.” He clutched the other’s hand, stopping another blast of power from forming, “It’s enough. You are tired. Stop, we will figure something out, don’t blame yourself.”

“Our hard work,” Baekhyun groaned, leaning on to Chanyeol, “It’s all gone…we need to restart from scratch…” Chanyeol rubbed soothing circles on the other’s shoulders, hoping to comfort the shorter.

“As Luhan said, it’s okay…we will figure something out.” He said determined, “We will…do not worry.”

Though not the best, the plan they come up with is deemed good enough. With Baekhyun and Yixing exhausted, it was decided that Minseok and Kyungsoo would help them make the shield. With frost and Kyungsoo’s power of strength, the shield would be much stronger and wouldn’t easily fade away if the supply of power were to be stopped.

Meanwhile, Kai, Tao and Kris would keep a watch on their surroundings while the rest of the team would act as offence and defence in case of another attack.

With the plan solidified, knowing they have very little time left, the guardians got to work. Despite Baekhyun’s insistence, Chanyeol formed an armour of flame around his soulmate so if anything is aimed at the male, before it can even make contact with his body, it will be burned and destroyed. Suho too insisted upon forming a layer of water around Yixing and Kyungsoo so any harmful substance can be absorbed easily and not cause harm to them. Unlike others, Jongdae gave his husband made of his power which will react instantly to protect his body in case another attack takes place.

With determined gazes, the guardians set to work, Kris flying off in the sky while Tao and Kai scanned the ground. The guardians in charge of making the shield waited until the rest of them got into their planned position before they linked their hands and started channelling every drop of their power as they could.

Soon the world around them started to fade, their powers interlocking and taking all of their concentration.

Slowly, Baekhyun and Yixing lighted up, fumes of white caressing tender skin. Minseok’s hair froze up- naturally soft locks, going rigid as he delves deeper into the well of his power. The ground shook slightly-not an earthquake unlike before- signifying Kyungsoo’s success in delving into the deepest corners of his well of power.

White, gold, blue and brown intertwined into a single flame- the mesmerizing union growing stronger with each step the wielders take in the chambers of their soul, magic swirling around them like butterflies.

The flames brightened and brightened until the defending guardians could no longer look at the males, the light and swirling magic blocking their vision with a mesmerizing dance.

“Ready?” Yixing whispered, waiting until Kyungsoo and Baekhyun on each of his sides nod before the four guardians are raising their hands. Blinding light envelopes the Lignum Vitae and almost immediately, as if triggered by the creation of the shield, the ground shook violently, knocking the wielders off their feet.

“Don’t stop.” Screamed Kyungsoo, “I’ll hold the ground, carry on.”

Barely retaining balance, the light bearers stood up intertwining their hands and pulling Minseok up before they continued shooting a constant flow of power toward the tree. At the back of their mind, they heard Kyungsoo scream orders as he tried to stop the earthquake, hand caressing the soil motherly.

“Chanyeol, barrier!” they heard Suho scream before hot flame enveloped them, keeping them out of harm’s way as they concentrated on the shield.

Panic rose in their hearts and yet they didn’t look behind them, only sending a prayer up to whoever may be listening for the safety of their friends.

They heard the blast of machines and the pants and yells of their friends before all went quiet. An astonished silence.

Then Kyungsoo screamed.

“Don’t look back!” ordered Suho, running for the Earth guardian, “Finish the shield, we are fine.” He said, pulling Kyungsoo out of the bubble of protection as the male whimpered, clutching his abdomen. There is no way that the protective layer wrapped around the male was breached, they didn’t see anything hitting the other, then-

“Don’t think.” Luhan yelled, “Just focus on the shield.”

“It’s said easily than done, especially when your mates are in damn chaos and you can’t even see what is going on,” Minseok grumbled, pushing his magic further. The ice cast was done- the first layer was done. Only a bit more and they’d have an erect shield around the heart of the universe.

“We are fine,” Jongdae reassured, standing protectively in front of the casting wielders, “Don’t worry, we are fine.”

“The first layer, it’s finished. We need Kyungsoo.” Yixing said, gripping his chest to stop heaving and disrupting the flow of power. “Get Kyungsoo.”

“Can’t,” Jongdae replied, striking something with a blast of thunder. “He is unconscious. Finish, however, you can, we can’t hold on much longer.”

“What-How?”

“I don’t know what happened. He was holding the ground for you and the next second he was clutching his abdomen; Jun is taking a look now.”

It took another half an hour before the shield was finished- invisible and unbreakable armour locked around the shining Lignum Vitae.

The three wielders instantly dropped to the floor as exhaustion overcame them.

“Guys?” Jongdae’s voice came through the invincible fire shield around them as they lied on the ground, catching their breaths and recovering as much energy as they can. “You okay in there?”

“Yeah,” Yixing panted, “We are done. The shield’s done.”

“Good, because we are in some desperate need of backup here.” Jongdae let out a nervous laugh, throwing another bolt of lightning behind him. “Of course catch your breath and take your time but…erm…help.”

“One second, just let me catch my breath,” Baekhyun mumbled, stretching his limbs before letting out a deep sigh, “How do we get out of here?”

“Just walk out,” Jongdae replied, reaching for his gun, “These imbeciles-”

Baekhyun stood up, pulling up Minseok and Yixing as well, “Give us a basic idea of what to expect when we are out of here…”

“Well, black sky, constant missiles aimed at the shield and everything out of a dystopian novel I guess.” Jongdae replied hurriedly, “Damn, Chanyeol look behind you!”

Taking a second to call forth their powers, every remaining drop being brought up for immediate use as they cautiously leave the fire shield Chanyeol had put around them. When they are out in the open, the shield disappears.

One look at their scenery and Baekhyun feels his knees buckle. The vibrant green planet…the planet that he and Chanyeol took care of for the last few decades, it was gone. The blue sky was filled with black smoke and the ground was overturned.

“Just… what happened in the last two hours?” he breathed, watching as the guardians engage humanoid AIs in combat. ”Where did they here from?”

“My guess is that they were waiting for the correct moment to strike and when they saw us put the shield around the Lignum Vitae, knowing we wouldn’t be able to defend in full force, they launched their attack,” Jongdae says, throwing another bolt of lightning to strike down a battleship. “It’s mostly all AIs for some reasons…a few automated weapons here and there but no humans. Nothing that evil could influence.”

“You are telling me we have to go against machines now?” Yixing grumbles, “And here goes my worth…how am I supposed to use my power to kill machines when it barely kills a human?”

“Your aim…” Minseok rolls his eyes, “You are the top in swordsmanship and shooting, I don’t know what you are grumbling about.”

“Exactly and you can just heal us when we are injured…” Baekhyun pointed out, “Now did the leaders come up with any plans or are we just supposed to shoot down these machines?”

“Dunno, they just told me to protect you while you finish off the shield.”

Baekhyun let out a helpless sigh as he blasted down yet another AI aiming for the Lignum Vitae. Turns out, protecting a tree while shooting down numerous AIs is more taxing than what he initially thought. He was technically fighting two battles-one against the evil force and one against himself and the sleepy exhaustion that relentlessly wants him to stop everything and bury himself under a blanket and sleep for a thousand year.

“Why is there so many still?” Jongdae whined, using his gun and his thunder simultaneously, shooting down a battleship. “I can’t do this anymore…”

“Shut up and keep fighting; you weren’t the one using every last bit of your power to make a shield around a fucking tree.” Baekhyun grumbles, “Can I just go and sleep for like a thousand years and come back when I have recovered?”

“Moo-”

“Guys!” Luhan yelled, coming into view, “We got a plan, come here.”

“How? These machines are swarming everywhere!” Yixing yelled back, “How did they even make so many of them?”

“Use your powers to create a path! Come here!”

Four collective sighs were heard as the four wielders shot their powers into the advancing army of robots and made their way to where the rest of the team was. Their brows themselves as they came closer. In the middle of the battleground, stood a large pile of overturned soil bearing the rest of the eight guardians as they fought off the machines from the earth. Surrounding it was a stream of water to prevent the AIs from getting closer.

“How are we supposed to get up there?” Yixing shouted once they were near enough

“Hang on,” Kris warned before he picked up the four of them, transporting them from the swarming crowd and onto where the rest stood.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Jongdae asked, “What plan did you manage to come up with?”

“Everyone here?” Luhan asked first, doing a head count, “Okay, so here is it-”

“This isn’t a superhero film, hurry up,” Minseok grumbled, freezing a bunch of advancing droids in their way before they exploded, taking down half of their legion.

“Let me speak then.” Luhan grumbled, “Anyway, here’s the plan. On the count of three, Tao you are gonna freeze time so all attacks from the battleships as well as the AIs stop. Freeze everything except us though. Then once he’s frozen time, we get down from here and take our positions in between each legion. From my count, there are 15 legions excluding that overhead.”

“Blast down as many of these brainless things as you can in two minutes that Tao will be able to freeze time for and then return back here. Tao’s gonna unfreeze time and boom-half the legion annihilated.”

“For someone taking this situation so lightly, you do come up with some great stuff.” Chanyeol nodded in approval, putting off flames from one of his hands so he can bring it to ruffle the older yet shorter male’s hair.

“Yah, I am older than you, show some respect.” Luhan huffed teasingly, “Anyway that was part one, part two is for Jongin, me and Yixing. While the time is frozen, teleport us to the battleships and we need to try to find as much information as possible before the time is unfrozen.” He explained, “Understood?”

When everyone nodded, Luhan turned to Tao, “Whenever you are ready.”

“Right,” Tao inhaled and exhaled, relaxing before he counted, “Three…two…one.”

All sounds of marching or robotic movement stopped as the droids froze mid-movement when Tao froze time.

“Let’s go.” Luhan’s signal is all that was needed as they jumped into action, shooting down droids one after another, an unspoken challenge of how many are destroyed by one being implanted in place as they destroyed as many machines as they can in the short amount of time they are given.

Meanwhile, Kai takes Luhan and Yixing’s hands as he teleports them to the closest spacecraft.

They expected a lot of things when they go inside the battleships but this was not one of them. The trio stares in horror at the scene in front of them, disbelieving.

“What the…” Luhan whispers as he walks closer, “What is…this?”

Jongin had teleported them into what seems like a lab, the room lighted with red and blue. If that didn’t make a chill run down their spines, the tabs on the computer certainly did. It showed a pitch black room with twelve beds-or at least that’s what it looked like. That, however, wasn’t what sent chill down their bodies- it was what was attached to each bed, carefully placed so it is hard to detect by someone who doesn’t recognize them.

With each bed was attached the power withdraw machine or what is known as the ‘soul sucker’ in Mars. They sucked the ability to wield out of a bearer-literally. Somehow, still unknown to most, the machines pulled every ounce of magic out of a bearer, making them unable to wield their element any longer.

Though more often than not, it is used for good, the guardians couldn’t help but feel their blood turn cold once they noticed them because there could only be one reason why they were brought all the way here from Earth and Mars and it wasn’t good.

They were here to capture them.

It all makes sense now-the endless stream of robots, the random missile shot, the relaxed nature of the attack, the sudden attacks…everything makes sense now. They were trying to exhaust them, they were trying to tire them out so when the real attack is launched…

The guardians are easily defeated.

Shaken by their discovery, they missed the signal Tao sent for them to return. Searching for more evidence to confirm their doubts, they failed to notice when the doors slid open and the next thing they knew, they had hit the ground with handcuffs preventing their movements.

Tao collapsed, letting time go back to its natural flow as the guardians gathered around him. Explosion-bright and powerful- took place as the damage they inflicted finally showed a result. They watched with pride as the machines burned

“I finished that entire legion and half of that one,” Chanyeol scoffed with pride.

“Good for you, I finished off three double the size of that,” Jongdae gloated, “Thunder really is better than fire.”

“Should I tell them?” Baekhyun asks Kyungsoo.

“What?”

“Nothing! Just that I cleaned off that entire part there.” He said simply, a smug expression taking over his face as he points at the part nearest to the Tree of Life, completely wiped out, not leaving a single AI standing.

“Wh-What?” Jongdae and Chanyeol gaped, “You are lying.”

“Nope. Guess light really is the strongest…”

Chanyeol and Jongdae quietened, in awe of Baekhyun’s powers. Then they yelled.

“That’s my soulmate!”

“That’s my best friend!” they said in unison, turning to glare at each other almost instantly.

“He’s my soulmate first.”

“I have known him since I was born. He’s my best friend, my potty friend.”

“If we were to go by age, we are soulmates since ever before we were born. Remember? Gods and then soulmate guardians?”

“Well bold of you to assume that he wasn’t my best friend in our previous lives, entitled prick.”

“He has half of my heart,” Chanyeol smirked. “Literally.”

“Excuse me? Just because he’s got half of the heart doesn’t mean we are not closer. How long have you known him for? 20 years?” Jongdae scoffs, “I know him for over two centuries!”

“Wh-”

“Stop!” Baekhyun yelled, pushing between his best friend and soulmate, “Literally what the hell are you doing?”

“Babe, you are my soulmate, you literally have half my heart, why is Jongdae being so mean?”

Jongdae let out an offended gasp, “Baekhyun, you need to change your choice in men, how can you fall for someone so asshole-y?”

“First of all Jongdae, asshole-y isn’t a word and Chanyeol isn’t an asshole; he’s nice.” Chanyeol grinned in victory when Baekhyun took his side but it soon dropped off when the shorter turned to him, “And you…I love you, I really do but really who would you say knows you better? Me or Sehun?”

“Sehun.” Chanyeol pouted, “But you are really close!”

“Exactly, you are pretty close but Jongdae literally knows the colour of my poo; you can’t compete for that.”

“That’s a disgusting comparison.” Jongdae choked.

“You don’t get to talk. What is it always about us being potty friends? Seriously you are gonna use that every time you feel threatened for my affection?”

“Um…guys?”

“Shut up Sehun, I am trying to calm two morons down.” Baekhyun grumbled, “I love you and everything Dae but if you were to choose between our bond and your bond with Min hyung, you’d choose him because you two are fucking married. That’s the same with me and Yeol. He’s my soulmate, our bond is bound to be stronger but that doesn’t mean that the bond between you and me is any weaker. Stop be-”

“That was literally a joke,” Minseok whispered to Suho, watching the scene with amusing grins.

“Um, guys?” Sehun retried.

“What?”

“Team Battleship isn’t back yet.”

“What?” chorused the other guardians, alerted.

“I can’t find them anywhere.” Sehun explained, “I scanned the whole field, they aren’t here…they must still be inside.”

“But I sent the signal before unfreezing…” Tao worried, “They must have gotten it.”

“Something must have happened.” Kris says, worry painted over his face, “We need to go there. They must be in trouble.”

“A team.” Suho says, “All of us can’t go up there, someone needs to be down here to do damage control and also keep watch on the Lignum Vitae.”

“Suho, Kyungsoo, Tao stay.” Kris orders, “There isn’t much to do except keeping the robots at bay. The rest of us should go…we don’t know what we should expect up there.”

“Yeah.” Suho nodded, “Tao refreeze time.”

Tao nodded, closing his eyes to concentrate.

“Let’s go I will fly you there, two at a time.” Kris nodded at his team, smiling as they quietly divided into groups of two, ready to take off.

“Min and Dae,” he called, grasping their hands as he lifted them in the air.

“Please hurry, I can’t hold it much,” Tao called, closing his eyes further.

“Yeah,” Kris breathed, “Let’s go.”

After Jongdae and Minseok, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were next. When he returned to finally carry Sehun there, Suho stopped him.

“Kris.” The shorter called, eyes worried yet holding motivation, “Be careful and return safely…please.”

In an act of courage, Kris pressed his forehead against his soulmate’s, hoping that would comfort him, “I will, you too, be safe. Don’t stress too much, I will take care of the boys.”

Suho nodded, savouring the contact of their foreheads before he let him go, “Be back quickly.”

“Kris hyung…get them back please.” Kyungsoo said, for once letting himself be vulnerable. “Make sure Kai doesn’t overuse his power.”

Kris nodded, taking Sehun’s arm and lifting him up in the air alongside himself.

“Sehun,” Tao called, “Take care and don’t be too reckless.”

“You too, I want to see you in one piece once we come back.” Sehun smiled, trying to not let his fear be seen.

With that the two flew off, the three watching on with worry, praying and hoping for the best.

Barely remaining calm with how haywire their nerves are going, they slip inside the battleship, on the lookout for anything that may signify their friends being there. Easily letting his magic create a cast over them, Baekhyun allows his power to make them invisible and hopes the battleship doesn’t have the invisibility detector.

“I can see light from there,” Sehun whispers, pointing towards the hallway lit with red, blue and purple. “Let’s check there before anything.”

“Yeah,” the rest agreed as they sneak on the hallway.

Lit grimly, the atmosphere of the aircraft makes their nervousness pique and Baekhyun barely hides a terrified shiver. This doesn’t feel right. For their friends to disregard the signal and the spacecraft being too quiet, almost lifeless, for a manually conducted machine. So he voices this out, hoping that would help them avoid any trouble.

“Guys…doesn’t this feel wrong?”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asks, looking around for any telltale sign of life.

“It’s too quiet…for a manually conducted machine to be this quiet…”

“He’s right.” Kris agrees, “We have to be extra careful; we don’t if the team ignored the signal, didn’t get it or if something has happened to them…we should be more cautious, God knows what’s going on.”

They look through every room they find and yet are unable to see their friends. With each room they pass, the anxiety only builds, worry for their friends’ lives as well the fear of the unknown plaguing their minds with each fail attempt to find the others. At the end of the hallway, unlike the corridor, is a room shredded in black.

“The darkness doesn’t feel…natural”, Jongdae tells the others. “As if it’s artificial or is forced…it’s too dark…the bad ominous kind.”

“Should we check it out?” Sehun asks, carefully peeking inside to look, “You can’t see anything from here.”

“Might as well,” Minseok answers, “Kris, lift us up a bit,” he waits until Kris does so before explaining, “There might be traps on the ground, if we are hovering, the probability of getting caught is lower. Let’s go.”

On instinct Jongdae reaches for his husband’s hand, clutching it to calm his nerves. Minseok lets the other, reaching to grasp his hand in his and rubbing circles in his palm as they enter the darkness.

Baekhyun reaches for Chanyeol’s hand as well, letting the other to intertwine their hands before speaking, “It’s too dark…Hold hands so at least when you are lost, you aren’t alone.” Then he follows Minseok and Jongdae, pulling his soulmate with him.

The darkness inside makes it almost impossible for the guardians to make out anything, Baekhyun not being able to provide light for them in fear of getting caught. They carry on, travelling deeper into the darkness, fear growing bigger as they clutch each others’ hands.

“Hyung…” Chanyeol whispered, “This doesn’t feel right, let’s go back.”

“We can’t, I promised Kyungsoo I will get the others.” Kris replies, his own voice stricken with fear, “Let’s us see where this leads us, we can go back if we still don’t find anything.”

The guardians quieted again, moving through the unnatural darkness. They don’t know how long they were walking for but finally, a bead of light was seen in the distance, their surroundings becoming recognizable once again.

“Light,” Baekhyun breathed.

They made their way to the light slowly, cautious of any potential dangers. The blanket invisibility wrapped itself tightly around the wielders, allowing them to slip past what they assumed was a watch-robot.

Once they were close enough, the light getting bigger, leading to what they supposed was another hallway. Sharing an understanding glance, the guardians approached the hallway cautiously. Sehun peeked inside, looking back at the guardians to signal them to come forward,

“No signs of life,” he explained, “We can just go in.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Kai jolted awake, clutching his head as he came back to consciousness.

‘Where am I?’ He looked around, taking in his surroundings, eyes widening when he sees an unconscious Luhan strapped down to a bed, different machines connected to his body. That’s when he noticed the straps around him, binding him to the bed he was placed upon. Before he could move, however, a voice spoke up, emotionless and cold.

“Don’t move, it won’t free you.” The man spoke, approaching Jongin, “There is no use of trying to free yourself, the more you move, the tighter the straps get.”

At the sight of the familiar man, Jongin’s eyes widened, “Ravi?”

“Good to know you still recognize me,” the man-Ravi- let out a humourless laugh.

“What are you doing here?” He asked; voice a whisper, shock coursing through his body.

“What do you think?” Ravi smirks, clicking his fingers. A robot enters, carrying three vials on a tray. Ravi motions it to put the tray on the table beside Jongin’s bed before it exits the room.

“Ravi…you are-” Jongin mumbles, eyes widening.

“Yep, a leading scientist in the Red Force.” He smirks, getting an injection out, “You wouldn’t know what the Red Force is though, would you?” he taunts, “Let me tell you; it’s the research institution that wants all form of wielding out of the universe.”

“Ravi-”

“Oh no, let me finish. Anyway Red Fore is an institution focused on wielders and powers. Our researches include searching for the origins of powers and how people can get them. Our main goal? To extinguish powers. To destroy any source of power and wielding.”

“Why?” Jongin breathes, “Aren’t powers useful?”

“Powers are alien!” Ravi scoffs, “No humans ever had them but suddenly they appeared out of nowhere. We don’t need them, we never did.”

“Ra- okay, okay, then what does that have to do with me being strapped to the bed?”

“We got the news that this planet is the core of all powers and that the people on it- its _guardians_ are the reason for the existence of these magic. If we destroy it, powers, will disappear and finally, the hard work and dedication of all those weapon scientists and engineers will finally be appreciated.”

“Ravi, you got it all wrong!” Jongin cries, “You can’t destroy this planet-”

“Why not?” Ravi scoffs, “Oh it’s because you wield power, how can you understand the suffering of the thousands of engineers that remains unemployed because your powers are apparently ‘good enough’ to fight and protect.”

“Ravi-”

“I am not here to talk anyway, my job is to anaesthetize you so when we can get down to extracting your powers.”

“Ravi, listen to me,” Jongin pleads, struggling as Ravi grasps his hand, trying to inject the anaesthesia into his body. “Ra-”

The strong anaesthetic immediately takes effect, rendering the teleporter to lose his consciousness.

Unknown to Ravi, however, Yixing guides a stream of healing magic into Jongin’s bloodstream, avoiding the anaesthesia from taking full effect, allowing Jongin’s powers to remain active despite the male being unconscious.

“Hyung…where are they?” Jongdae whines, mindful of the stream of robots that are working around them, “It’s been hours and we still haven’t found them…”

“How am I supposed to know?” Kris mumbles, frowning, “I have been with you this whole time. What you saw is what I saw.”

“I am just worried, what if they are held captive?”

“Then we have to go and free them,” Minseok says, “Dae, don’t panic so much, we will find them.”

“I am just scared!”

“So are we,” Sehun grumbles, “If anything happened to them, we will be at a huge disadvantage.”

“I am worried about my brother’s health not the war.”

“I am worried about both!” Sehun grumbles.

“Stop, you two.” Kris sighs, “We can’t fight amongst ourselves.”

“Kris is right,” Baekhyun says, taking his out of Chanyeol’s hold to hold on to Jongdae’s. “We are all worried but if we panic and argue amongst ourselves, it’s not gonna make the process quicker.”

Jongdae sighs, squeezing Baekhyun’s hand, “Sorry.”

The next time Jongin awakes, the first thing he hears is the pained whimpers from his side. Mind hazy due to the anaesthesia it takes Jongin several moments before he can recognize the voice.

“Luhan hyung?” he mumbles, trying to break off from the straps tying him in place, body weakened and moving slow.”Hyung? What happened?”

Luhan doesn’t stop whimpering, the sound getting louder as seconds pass. Kai, with great effort, manages to sit up, eyes scanning the room for anything that may have caused the telekinetic male discomfort. Finding nothing, he turned back to the male, unable to get off the bed and reach for the older due to the straps holding him in place.

“Hyung,” he calls as a result, “Luhan hyung, wake up.”

It doesn’t seem to have an effect on the older but it does manage to wake the male in the room. Yixing jerks awake when he hears Jongin’s voice calling for his soulmate. Alerted he forgets about the straps around his body as he tries to get out of bed, only to be held back and squeezed as the straps become tighter.

“Yixing hyung!” Kai sighs in relief, “Luhan hyung’s whimpering in his sleep…”

“Why?” Yixing asks, mind still hazy.

“I don’t know…I woke up and he was groaning…” Kai replies, helpless.

“Keep a watch on the door while I check up on him,” Yixing ordered, closing his eyes to concentrate as he sends a stream of his power to check on his mate.

Jongin worried his bottom lip between his teeth, fear holding him in its clutches him as he kept an eye out for Ravi or anyone associated with him. Just what had they gotten themselves into? Does the rest of the guardians even know that they are in trouble or are they too overwhelmed by the stream of droids that are keeping them distracted from the main event that will soon take place?

Baekhyun sighed, wrapping the blanket of light tighter around them as they entered the cockpit of the spacecraft, still searching for their friends. With each minute that passed, he couldn’t help but let worry build up. Where were they? They know they are in this spacecraft because they saw them teleport here but then…where could they be? They have looked through every room that fell in front of them and yet was unable to find the three.

“Look,” Chanyeol gasped, “The screen.”

Everyone turned to where Chanyeol was pointing, eyes widening as they took in what was shown.

Shit.

This is much worse than what they were expecting.

“Fuck,” Jongdae cursed, eyes as big as saucers as his hand tightened around his husband’s.

Silently everyone else reciprocated the sentiment, sharing scared glances.

“This is…we need to get the others, there’s no way we can fight them by ourselves.” Sehun said, voice wavering as the video played in front of them.

“Y-yeah…”

In front of them on the holographic screen, a room was being shown. Filled with absolute darkness, the room gave out a fearful aura and with only a lone bulb trying to rid of the darkness…it was chilling. But that wasn’t what scared them. It was humans- familiar and foreign- standing in a single file as the darkness nudged and played with them. Belatedly, they realized- the humans…they were hypnotized, unresponsive as the darkness played with their mind.

They watched with horrified silence as strands of darkness slipped through their mouths and ears, turning their eyes pitch black as it took all control of the human. Then the screaming began.

“Shit,” Jongdae winced, the shrill screams pounding in his ears, “They are…they are being indoctrinated…no wonder we never came across any humans…they are all being locked in the darkness and…”

“Hyungs…what if Kai, Xing and Lu-ge are there as well… ” asked a horrified Sehun, “What if they are being brainwashed to turn against us?”

“That would be bad…really bad…” breathed Minseok, “But I don’t see them…they are probably still around the room somewhere if they want to use Luhan to control us.”

“We need to go,” Kris ordered, “We need to find them ASAP before something terrible happens.”

Yixing winced as he delved in his mate’s mind, the other still unresponsive to any of Jongin’s calls or the touch of Yixing’s power on his body. As he let his magic flow freely, searching for any bit of Luhan that might help him bring the male back, he was forcibly pushed back, a barrier forming between their minds, preventing him from reaching his mate.

So he tried another route, mixing his power in the older’s bloodstream, he waited until it had reached his mate’s brain and only then is he able to overcome the barrier preventing him from entering his mate’s mind.

What he sees, however, rips a grimace out of him. God, Luhan was seeing things again…

The scene he was currently in was painted with red, bloody and gruesome. Screams of pain and yells of protest heard from around him. Barely, he manages to get to Luhan- the male standing at a corner and staring helplessly as he saw his friends suffer in the hand of the people on the spacecraft.

“Luhan.” Yixing moved in front of his mate, blocking the vision, “Luhan, dear, listen to me, look at me.” He pleaded, hands cupping his face as he brought the other’s gaze away from the horrifying scene to his eyes.

“Listen to me, this is a vision, it hasn’t happened yet but if you wake up…if you open your eyes, we can figure something out. Don’t cry,” he comforted the other. The evident anxiety in his voice, though, failed to have much effect on the terrified male, “Luhan, please try to wake up?”

Yixing waited until his mate looked into his eyes, sighed and nodded before he left the other’s mind, allowing himself back into his body.

“Hyung?” Kai called, voice strained, “What-”

“A vision,” Yixing explained, “He had a vision of us, all of us. We are in deep trouble.”

“Is he okay though?” Jongin questioned, more worried about Luhan than off the vision he might be having.

“Yeah…just traumatized and terrified of what he is seeing,” Yixing sighed, “Give him a minute or two and he’ll be back in his body.”

Jongin nodded, leaning back against his bed as he closed his eyes. The fear threatened to overcome his senses but he pushed it back, knowing calmness would be of more help than fear. Right now, they needed a way out of here so they could warn the others of what is about to come.

“There’s a room there,” Sehun pointed, “The only room in this corridor.”

“Go check it out,” Chanyeol said, moving behind Baekhyun.

“You go! I have been checking all the rooms; do you want me to die?”

“Actually yes, that would be a good sacrifice.”

“You-”

“Sehun,” Kris warned, “Just go.”

Sehun grumbled out a curse, rolling his eyes as he went closer to the room, peeking in. His eyes immediately widened and he turned to the others. “They are here,” he mouthed, running inside.

The others hurriedly followed him, sighing in relief once they see the all three males in one piece, safe and sound.

“Careful,” Baekhyun warned, grasping Sehun, “There are things wrapped around them, one wrong move and something bad might happen.”

“Yeah, yeah, ” Sehun sighed, “Hyung, we should become visible to them.”

“No,” Kris said, chiding the younger for his impatience, “There are cameras here; if they see us, we will be in deeper trouble than what we are already in.”

“What do you suggest we do then?” Sehun asked, “We need to let them know that we are here.”

“Wait,” Baekhyun said, coming forward, “Only if we can freeze time, we can get this done.”

“We can’t send a signal to Tao from this deep in the aircraft.” Sehun reasoned, “We need to take the risk-”

“We can,” Jongdae spoke up, “Give me a few seconds…” he said, shutting his eyes as he let his power flow to the tips of his fingers, the electricity crackling as it’s freed. A few seconds later, rumbling thunder was heard outside as lightning struck the sky.

Jongdae opened his eyes, panting as he grinned, “Signal sent.”

Another few seconds of waiting before the guardians felt the familiar sensation of time stopping around them as everything around them quietened and froze. Then Baekhyun cautiously got rid of the invisibility blanket he had cast over them, stepping out of the shield before motioning others to follow suit.

As time froze, so did the three captive guardians, making the task of freeing them much harder than what they initially hoped. Baekhyun and Sehun scanned the straps that tied Jongin to his bed, trying to figure out a way to rid of them without sounding the alarm.

“We need keys, they are locked,” Sehun said, once he tried pulling the straps of the frozen male.

“What makes you think we will have the keys?” Jongdae huffs.

“Jongdae, stop being so impolite,” Minseok scolded, “Don’t worry, you have me.”

“And how is ice gonna help?” Chanyeol asks, already exhausted by the day’s events, “I will melt them instead.”

“No,” Kris stopped the taller, “You might hurt them, let Xiumin work.” He explained, motioning for Xiumin to get to do what he wanted.

Minseok leant down beside Luhan’s bed, looking for the keyhole. Once he found it, he pressed his palm on it, the room’s temperature lowering as he called forth his frost. A shard of ice formed inside the keyhole, identical of its shape before Minseok moved his hand away from the strap as he formed a holder for the ice key. One twist and Minseok smiled, satisfied.

“It’s open.” He said, pulling the key out and moving onto Yixing. The key was inserted in Yixing’s lock and twisted, freeing the healer before the oldest moved onto the teleporter. Easily, he was able to rid of that strap as well, before signalling Jongdae, “All done.”

Jongdae nodded, closing his eyes as he sent Tao another signal-this time to unfreeze time.  Baekhyun stepped forward in the meantime, using the frozen time to his advantage as he quickly covered the frozen males as well as the five guardians with him in his invisibility shield, taking extra care on the frozen males, making sure every inch of them were covered before he stepped back.

“All ready to go,” he said as he motioned Chanyeol, Yifan and Sehun to pick up the frozen males. As time went back to its natural flow, the unlocked straps clicked free, allowing the members to pick up the three captive ones as they made a run for the door.

“Wha-” Jongin jolted, clutching on Sehun’s shoulders as the other speed walked down the hallway, Chanyeol and Kris following behind while Baekhyun, Xiumin and Jongdae kept an eye behind them, ready to defend them if a sudden ambush takes place. As they feared, within seconds, the alarms went off, the blaring loudness alerting all robot and humans alike that their hostages have successfully fled.

The guardians ran for their lives, adrenaline pumping in their veins as they fled the spacecraft.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Jongdae chanted, eyes widening when he saw a cloud of darkness suddenly appear to chase them, “I think they can see us, Baekhyun, do something, fuck.”

“I did!” Baekhyun yelled and still attempted to tighten the shield around them, “Run, I can’t do more than this.”

The males at the front skidded to a halt as darkness engulfed them, surrounding them without a way out. Chanyeol panted, reaching for his mate by instinct, eyes widening when he didn’t find him near him.

“Baekhyun?” he looked back, eyes searching for the shorter despite the heavy weight of Yixing on his back, “Hyung, I can’t see Baekhyun, Jongdae or Min hyung!” he yelled, trying to clear the darkness, swatting the darkness in hopes of getting rid of it.

“We are fine!” Baekhyun yelled, “Just run as fast as you can, don’t worry about us.”

“We can’t,” Kris yelled, clutching Luhan close to him, “We are surrounded. Completely.”

“Fuck.” Jongdae cursed, “Baekhyun is your cloak still around us? I think they can see us.”

“Yeah, it is…if they are seeing us, that means they’ve got those visibility glasses.” Baekhyun reasoned, trying his hardest to pull the shield tighter around them. “I can’t hold it…the push is too strong.”

“H-hyung…” Jongin mumbled, “Hun…tell them to gather here, I can teleport us…”

“You are too tired,” Sehun frowned, “You can’t even stand…”

“It wouldn’t take much effort…” Jongin answered, “I can at least get us out of here, the rest can be handled later, come on, we don’t have the time…”

Sehun sighed, “Okay,” before yelling out, “Hyungs, regroup here…Jongin can teleport us off the rocket, quickly!”

Everyone hurried to where Sehun stood with Jongin on his back, grasping each other’s hands as they regrouped.

“Are you sure?” Kris asked, grabbing Chanyeol’s hand.

“Yeah, …we don’t have much of a choice anyway.” Jongin said, touching the arms of Minseok and Kris while he tightly wound his legs around Sehun, “Kris hyung, grab Chanyeol hyung. Yeol hyung, grab Baekhyun hyung and Minseok hyung, grab your husband.”

The others hurried to do as they were told, grasping each other.

“I can’t- Jongin hurry, the shield’s fading,” Baekhyun yelled, pushing more of his power out toward the shield, trying to make it stronger. Unfortunately without much effect.

“Jong-” Baekhyun gasped as the insistent darkness pushed through his shield, the hand in Chanyeol’s shooting out to defend himself.

In that instance, Jongin teleported, Chanyeol desperately trying to grasp his mate but only being able to see his wide, terrified eyes.

Baekhyun reached out for his mate’s extended hand, trying to grasp it before he disappeared, fingertips making contact with Chanyeol’s much larger ones as they tried to grab each other. Before he could enclose his fingers around Chanyeol’s however, the male vanished with the rest of the team, Jongin’s magic taking effect.

The next second, his shield shatters around him and he isn’t given a moment to recover as he shoots a blast of light toward the cloud of darkness, missing his target as he is gobbled up in the darkness, his light snuffing out.

The guardians land on the raised ground, sighing in relief at having escaped the clutches of evil. Immediately the guardians who didn't go to the spacecraft, help them, getting the unconscious or extremely exhausted males of their backs and lying on the ground.

As soon as Yixing is off his back, Chanyeol looks around, eyes wild as he searches for his soulmate. “Baekhyun?” he yells, looking over the battlefield and behind the others, praying to whoever is up there that his mate is safe and here, “Baekhyun!”

“What happened?” Jongdae questions, looking with alerted eyes at Chanyeol’s crazed and panicked expression, “Baekhyun- where is he?”

Chanyeol pays him no heed, looking around the expanse of green and destroyed machine parts as they scatter around the field, “Baekhyun…Baekhyun please- don’t play these games, come out…” he says weakly, trying to see his mate.

“Chanyeol, where is Baekhyun?” Jongdae asks again, panic clear on his face, “You were holding his hand, where is he?” he rambles, shoving at Chanyeol, “Where is my best friend?”

“I don’t- I don’t know…” Chanyeol answered, eyes watering as he desperately searches for his soulmate, “He- I had his hand in mine but then he snatched it away…and- and before I could get a hold of him…we teleported…our-our fingers touched- he should be here…I am sure he is hiding to make me suffer…Baekhyun, baby…please come out…” Chanyeol babbled, weeping as he refuses to believe that Baekhyun is still on the aircraft.

“Chanyeol…” Jongdae sobbed out, “You were given _one_ job…One job…you couldn’t even hold his hand…you are his soulmate goddammit, what kind of soulmate-” he cries, clutching the taller’s shirt in his fist, shaking him as he cries, “What kind of soulmate are you? How-how can you-”

“Dae-” Minseok comes forward, removing Chanyeol’s shirt from his husband’s fists as he brings the shorter in his embrace, “Darling…it’s not his fault.”

“How- how can it not be?” Jongdae weeps, searching for comfort in his husband’s embrace, “He was holding his hand and he let it go and now Baekhyun…my best friend is stuck there…surrounded by darkness…God knows what they are doing with him?”

“Jongdae, listen, I know how scared you are feeling but Chanyeol-Baekhyun is Chanyeol’s soulmate, he must be terrified now and if you curse at him and blame him, he doesn’t have any comfort…he can’t hope that his mate is safe…we need to give him strength now baby.”

“If only he didn’t let go of Baek’s hand-”

“No, no, no,” Minseok comforts, voice soothing, “Baekhyun took his hand out of his grasp to prevent darkness from leaking into the shield but before he could grab hold of Chanyeol’s hand again, we teleported…it’s not his fault baby…we need to be strong for him now. I am sure he is blaming himself now, we need to be the one giving him hope-”

“Are you not worried about Baekhyun?” Jongdae accuses, voice hysteric, “He is your best friend-he was like your little brother and you are taking Chanyeol’s side?”

“No, no, no…” Minseok reassures, “I am terrified right now. I just want to go back to our base and cry because I don’t know what is happening to Baekhyun…I- after so many years when we finally saw him…this happened, I am falling apart and I want to scream and Chanyeol too, but…it’s not his fault Jongdae…he’s-that guy’s falling apart, he’s scared of losing his mate forever…if we, as Baekhyun’s best friends, can’t take care of his mate and reassure him…do we deserve to be called his best friends?”

Glancing at Chanyeol- the other looks inconsolable as he wails in Sehun’s arm, begging Jongin to teleport him back on the spacecraft. Jongdae regrets blaming him. Minseok is right, he shouldn’t blame Chanyeol…it was an accident- a fatal one, yes, but an accident nonetheless. He glances back at his husband, who is trying to stop his tears, telling the other to cry as he clutches him. The two of them let their tears flow free, terrified for what Baekhyun might be going through and praying, hoping that the male is safe-that by some miracle, he is saved.

Baekhyun startles, coming to his senses and blearily blinking his eyes open. Bright light, almost uncomfortable, greets him and he shuts his eyes, getting fully used to his weakened body before blinking his eyes open again.

He’s hung up somewhere high, he realizes once sensation returns to his limbs. He’s _crucified_ -tied to a cross, held into place with metal straps around his body. He tries to move his arms, to get the blood flowing toward his frozen palm…

Only to get electrocuted. At high voltage. As the shock ripples through him, he screams, the pain unbearable.

“Oh, look who’s awake?” A chilling voice reaches his ears and he blinks down, unable to move his head from where its held in place with a metal beam. The voice seems familiar, he thinks, trying his hardest to see its bearer. “Aww, look at you trying so hard to see me, missed me that much?” A cruel humourless laugh follows, “I will make it easier, wait there.”

Then he hears the sound of a portable lift lifting itself up to him, eyes widening at meets ones too familiar.

“Heechul hyung?” The surprised gasp earned another cruel laughter from the male Baekhyun viewed as his older brother. Unbelievable- the Heechul he knew was a ball of fluff and sunshine and perverted thoughts- not this…emotionless male he sees in front of him.

“Hyung?” He asks, voice weak, “What-”

“Hello, Baekhyunnie~” Heechul greets, letting a cold smirk take over his features, “I suppose you have been well.”

“Heechul hyung…what happened to you?”

“Huh?” Heechul cocks his head, “Nothing changed-well I did have an epiphany some twenty years back…”

“Epiphany?” he mumbles, brows furrowing.

“Yep, I realized that powers-orbs and all that shit-they were never meant for humans…it was alien and to get our race back to how we were-magic less-we need to destroy any source of powers…and it just turns out that the planet you are protecting is the core for any kind of magic-all origins lead us back to here.” Heechul laughs,

“Now darling…you were like my little brother but unfortunately, you are also the strongest recorded wielder and now that you have become a guardian to protect the root of all of our problem…I must get rid of you. Otherwise how else are we suppose to create a new world where there are no elements and people starts appreciating the resources us scientists have worked so hard on inventing. We do need our credit and we don’t get it because of Magic this, magic that. Magic is better, you can do it easily with magic blah blah blah.”

“They-they brainwashed you…Hyung, you used to love tinkering with power orbs, _you_ are a wielder yourself, how can you say this?”

“Oh honey, I can…I got rid of my abilities, I am no alien, why would I need unearthly powers to lead my life?

“Hyung-” Baekhyun tried again, trying to find even a glimpse of his favourite older brother figure. “Please, don’t do this.”

“Hush now!” Heechul said, voice still calm yet holding undertones of brutality-vicious.

“They wanted you executed as soon as you were caught, but of course I had a better idea.” Heechul laughs, “Why not starve you, why not torture you so much that you- dear Light Guardian- start hating the power you love so much; that’d be fun now, wouldn’t it? You shouldn’t have come here to save Jongin and Yixing, at least they were doing better than what you’ll be going through.”

“I will leave you to send desperate pleas up to whoever God you believe in, I have got better things to do. Take care- oh and, don’t move too much, the voltage through these electrodes are pretty high.”

Chanyeol wakes up in his bed, the sheets under him soft and smelling of Baekhyun. At the reminder of the shorter, tears fill Chanyeol’s eyes. his soulmate-his other half was going through God knows what. Why did he let go of his hand? One or two bruises were nothing compared to the pain he is feeling as he thinks of his mate, locked up in a dark room, imprisoned and tied back.

“Baekhyun…” he whispers, wishing it was him and not the kind and selfless Baekhyun who was in this mess. Baekhyun-his Baekhyun deserved to be taken care of after what he had gone through for the lonely and alone century before Chanyeol came but because of him…his mate was suffering as a prisoner of the dark they were supposed to defeat.

“Hyung?” Sehun peeked inside the room, sighing in relief when he saw Chanyeol awake and despite the sobs wracking through his body, he was safe and healthy. “Don’t cry hyung…” he murmured, climbing on the bed and embracing the older, “It wasn’t your fault…it really wasn’t…we will figure something out, stop crying…”

“Sehun-ah…” Chanyeol wept, “He is my mate…I am supposed to protect him and look what I did, I let go of his hand-didn’t hold it tight enough and now God knows what he is going through now, all alone against these mighty forces of darkness.”

“It wasn’t your fault, hyung…Don’t blame yourself, it was an accident. He only wanted to make sure the shield didn’t crack when before we were safe and he let off your hand…it was just unfortunate that we teleported just then…”

“You don’t understand,” Chanyeol yelled, “Our fingers…they were touching and I had his hand in my palm…we were so close and yet I…when he let go of me, why didn’t I hold onto his shoulders…”

Hearing Chanyeol speak, the rest of the team entered the room, silently letting the other grief as they came inside. Unable to see the usually so happy Chanyeol so miserable, Jongdae spoke up,

“Chanyeol…don’t blame yourself, we don’t blame you…it wasn’t your fault.”

“But it is! You don’t understand, I had him…I had his hand in my palm…only if I closed my hand around his quicker…why didn’t I hold onto his shoulders…that way we could have teleported safely…”

Jongdae sighed, understanding the turmoil Chanyeol is going through and as much as he wanted to hate the other, he admitted that it wasn’t the taller’s fault. He motioned Sehun to scoot over as he climbed on the bed and sat in front of Chanyeol. Sighing he took the taller’s face in his palms, caressing the tears away as he spoke, trying to comfort the taller,

“I know you are going to blame yourself…that is normal but Chanyeol…this wouldn’t reverse what has happened…now that he is held captive, rather than weeping over his well being, don’t you think we should try to figure out how to rescue him?” He spoke, voice soft, “I don’t blame you anymore…no one does, so don’t blame yourself. Instead, use this grief to come up with a rescue plan. If we waste our time crying…he will only suffer more so don’t cry. Please.”

Chanyeol sniffled, eyes still flowing but nonetheless, he nodded, leaning his head on Jongdae’s palms, seeking comfort from the closest person to his soulmate.

“Okay…” he breathed as Jongdae wiped off his tears and gave him a soft smile.

Baekhyun doesn’t know how long has passed, hanging on a thin string of semi-consciousness. He hears every sound that is made, acutely aware of his surroundings and yet being unable to make sense of it, slipping in and out of consciousness. At one point, he remembers thinking that they might have injected something in him, otherwise, how can a healthy male keep losing consciousness.

When he regains his senses once again, the first thing he hears is Heechul screaming at someone. With much effort, he processes the conversation being exchanged. He hears Heechul asks a male for food and water for him, justifying it by explaining how fun it would be to keep the strongest guardian in the universe alive as long as they can so they can torture him more and more.

“It’s a game…” he hears Heechul speak, “The longer we keep him alive, the more fun we can have…I wanna see how long it takes for the strongest wielder in the world to break…that would be entertaining.”

Then his senses fade once again.

Once again he is awakened, this time by Heechul, who has once again, lifted himself up to Baekhyun so they are on the same level. “Hey there, guardian, how are you doing there?”

Baekhyun can only blink, mind bleary as he processes what Heechul had said. He doesn’t reply, only closes his eyes as a pained whimper leaves him. Heechul doesn’t seem to pay it any need as his tone maintains the cheerful tone.

“Quite well I see if you are only whimpering,” the older notes, “But look!” Heechul holds up a plate, “I got you some food! Of course, don’t worry about eating it because it's 100% organic and poison free.”

Heechul smiles, the smile much kinder than the ones he had received before and Baekhyun can only stare, confused. What kind of game is he playing?

Heechul looks at his bound hands before an unrecognizable expression flashes in his eyes. Before Baekhyun can decipher it, however, it’s gone, replaced by the cold grin,

“Oh I forgot you have your hands bound,” Heechul says, trying to sound as much apologetic as possible-sarcasm intertwining with his words, “What can we do now? Baekhyunnie needs to ea, otherwise how can we have our fun with him?” he says, feigning a thoughtful expression, “You know what, for old times’ sake, I will feed you. You know just like when we were at the academy?” He singsongs, getting a spoonful of rice and bringing it forward, in front of Baekhyun’s lips, “Eat up, darling, you  need as much strength as possible.”

This time his voice is much softer, borderlining comforting, and Baekhyun, despite hating himself for it, basks in the little warmth.

“Open up, Starchild,” At the mention of his nickname, Baekhyun’s eyes snap open, meeting Heechul’s. The older gives him a guarded smile, eyes crinkling slightly as he raises the spoon to Baekhyun’s lips, “Eat up.”

“Okay, I have a plan,” Suho says, once everyone has calmed down and settled around the table in the mess hall, all hearts tugging painfully at the one empty chair.

“Go on,” Kyungsoo encourages, caressing Jongin’s hair as the other leans on him, “Let’s hear it.”

“Similar to the plan we had the rescue mission for those three,” Suho points, “Tao is gonna freeze time and we’ll use that time to fly to the aircraft. After that, Jongin will directly teleport a team into where Baekhyun is kept and another into where the cockpit is.”

“Team A would be responsible for freeing Baekhyun while Team B creates distractions, diverting attention from our main plan as well as getting as many kills as possible. When Team A sends a signal that Baekhyun has been freed, Team B will destroy as much as the machines inside because if my guess is right…the aircraft Baekhyun is in is the command centre for all the smaller ones, if we take that one down, it will be easier to take the others down.” Suho explains, looking at the other guardians for approval, waiting until they nod, before carrying on, “Once Team A has safely gotten Baekhyun out, they would return to the ship to help the others inside.”

“What about the humans inside?” Sehun questions, “They are brainwashed…they are indoctrinated to support whatever we are fighting against.”

“Hyung…there are people we know in there…” Jongin says, frowning, turning toward Kris, “You remember Ravi hyung? Agent Kim Wongsik from Intergalactic Wielder Protection Unit?”

“The one that was in VIXX?” Kris questions, eyes widening.

“Yeah…hyung’s with them…” Jongin sighs, “He was going off about a Red Force of something like that…Apparently, it’s an anti-wielder organization, hell-bent on ridding the universe of us.”

“The one from Neptune?” Minseok questioned, “He’s a wielder himself!”

“I know and that’s what itching me…he was talking how wielders don’t allow non-wielders to be appreciated…and that doesn’t make sense because he’s one himself.”

“They are brainwashed to think that, so I am not really surprised,” Yixing says, sighing, “We can’t save everyone…if we need to make the sacrifice for a greater good…we have to go through with it.”

“It’s not their fault though!” Jongin protests, “It’s the Red Force or whatever that brainwashed them to think like it. Ravi hyung is so talented, we can’t just-”

“Did you say, Red Force?” Yixing is rendered speechless, “Shit.”

“What-” Suho asks, stopping midway as realization dawns on him, “It’s not what I think it, is it?”

“What are you guys talking about?” Sehun whines, “Mind sharing?”

“Did Ravi say, Red Force?” Yixing asks, eyes wide with fear.

“Yes?”

“Shit.” Suho and Yixing chorused, “This is worse than we thought…”

“Why what happened?”

“Red Force is an organization specializing in wielding research…” Suho starts, “Except…they research on how to rid of powers…one of the infamous anti-power organizations.”

“They were banned from both Mars and Earth following the mass kidnapping of wielders, mass killing of wielders and barbaric research on power bearers.” Yixing carried on, “Their leaders were trialled and executed and after that, they went into hiding. Some hundred years ago, and when a search was conducted…they realized that the victims were never freed but instead transported to an unknown planet where they set up their new research facility.”

“A lot of agents from both Earth and Mars were sent to look for it but they never returned and those who did…they had the worst PTSD…” Suho said, “If they are behind all this…”

“We need to be careful…more than ever.” Yixing concludes, “They managed to hide so well…they are dangerous.”

Baekhyun winces as he awakens, a loud voice blaring in his ears. Heechul. Heechul’s voice booms in the quiet prison as he speaks,

“I know it sounds every unrealistic but the collars-they are effective. If we hypnotise him and put him in the collar and order him to bring the other guardians to us, our job would be done easily. We wouldn’t have to lift a finger!” he hears, brows furrowing as he tries to make sense of what Heechul is talking about.

“We have tried it on 7 people before and it was all effective,” Heechul continues, “If we put him in a collar and send him down there as our agent, the guardians wouldn’t doubt anything. He can sway them to come to us and we can capture them easily. Once we have retracted their powers, the shield around that tree will automatically fade. It would save us ammunition and effort.”

Then it’s silent for a moment before Heechul is laughing, “Of course, I wouldn’t. I only serve the Red Force and our master. This boy is from my past, and the past should always be left in the past.” Some whispers, possibly the person on the other side of the phone replying, before Heechul answers, “Yes, I will take full responsibility. I will collar him ASAP and send him down. Yes, yes. Thank you. Long live the Master.”

Then the call ended and Heechul sighed and muttered something; before Baekhyun could comprehend what is happening however, he lost consciousness.

“Baekhyun…” a whisper, the voice so familiar, “Baekhyun…wake up.”

Opening his eyes was never harder than this. He felt gentle hands touch his face, smoothing out any rough patches as the voice spoke, “Please, wake up...”

“Wha-” he mumbled, blinking his eyes open, “Heechul hyung?”

“Yeah,” Heechul mumbled, hands reaching to unclasp the belt holding Baekhyun’s face in place, “Baekhyunnie…let’s get you down first okay?”

Without waiting for his reply, Heechul got to work. Unclasping his hands from above his head and letting him have a moment to recover as blood flowed back into his wrists. Then he unclasped the binders around his feet, easily catching Baekhyun when he toppled up.

“Wongsik…Pull it down, I have got him.” The whirling of metal as the lift was lowered sounded and Baekhyun blinked blearily, confused as to what was happening. As soon as they were in touching distance, another pair of wrapped around him, taking him from Heechul and putting him on a stretcher. All Baekhyun could do was be lax, body refusing to work as the males carried him off.

Awake, he felt the prickle of a needle as it pierced his skin, then the flow of foreign liquid in his blood. Disoriented, he could only mumble out the name of the male who was like his brother, “Heechul hyung?”

Heechul hushed him, caressing his hair as another few pairs of hands work on him, massaging his wrists and feet to get the natural blood flow to return and putting an oxygen mask on him. With the comforting hands in his hair, his consciousness faded once again.

The next time when he woke up, he was in a room, different machines attached to him, the heart monitor beeping every few seconds to show that he was in a  stable condition. A pack of saline was attached to his hand and he was in hospital scrubs.

Taking a moment to process his surroundings, he sat up, wincing as pain shot up his spine, his back throbbing. Not a minute later, Heechul entered with a tray full of food, setting it down on the table beside him as he sat by Baekhyun’s bed,

“Thank God, you are awake…” he said, sighing in relief, smiling softly at the confusion on Baekhyun’s face, “I will explain everything, but first…eat something,” he picked up the tray and put in on Baekhyun’s lap, mindful of not spilling the soup.

“What is going on?” Baekhyun asks, unable to keep a hold on his curiosity.

“Eat your food first, Baekhyunnie…I will explain everything,” Heechul replied, getting up, “I will be back in a sec, finish of your food meanwhile.”

With that, he left, leaving Baekhyun with a jumbled mess of thoughts. Before he could do something however, his stomach growled, the aroma of the food in his lap, prompting him to eat and fill his stomach after almost two days of no food.

Sighing, he decided to listen to Heechul, feeding himself- the food, surprisingly, well cooked and appetising.

When Heechul returned some five minutes later, Baekhyun had already gobbled up every grain of food he was given, finally getting something to eat after a whole two days of starvation.

“Look at you,” Heechul smiled, “I am so sorry for what I did the past two days…I needed to keep up my act because they were monitoring your every move.”

“Who?” Baekhyun asked, gladly accepting the glass of water Heechul offers him.

“The Leader of Red Force.”

“What even is this Red Force?” Baekhyun questions, frowning. He remembers Heechul mentioning when he was still tied up.

“It’s an organization…an anti-wielder organization that wants to destroy any form of wielding and its roots…” Heechul explains, “They want to old weapons like grenades and shit.”

“Why are they even supporting violence in the first place?” Baekhyun raises his brows, “At least with wielding, no one dies unless they are 100% to be killed.”

“Exactly, sounds sketchy doesn’t it?” Heechul laughs, “An entire unit from IAA was commissioned to spy on them and now barely 20 of us are still here.”

“You are acting as a spy?” Baekhyun’s eyes widened, “For the IAA?”

“Yeah,” Heechul explained, “Some years before you were sent here…the IPS hold of some of the members and when they were interrogated, we found that Red Force still exists and they are operating on a new planet.”

“L-1485.” Baekhyun realizes.

“Yep.” Heechul confirms, “After that, you were sent here in the guise of looking for a new inhabitable planet. Remember the orders you were given?”

“To report back anything suspicious-especially anything that hints on a human having step foot on the planet before.”

“But then your rocket malfunctioned and we weren’t able to contact you. We tried to reach out-even sent a whole crew to rescue you but they never returned. The first five years, you wouldn’t believe the panic that was encompassing SpaceX. We were hopeless, constantly trying to find a way to contact you but then when we sent our second spacecraft for you…” Heechul shuddered, “We found that…behind all this-behind the disappearance of all of our spacecraft and behind the malfunctioning of your communication devices…it was them…”

Baekhyun gapes, unable to believe what Heechul revealed, “Then?”

“Then,” Heechul continues, “We reported to the IAA and they hatched a plan to send one of their astronauts from Earth to you, under the guise of finding somewhere new…It was top secret, barely anyone knew about this.”

“When the Earthian landed, the report he sent was…horrifying. The whole planet was burnt and worst of all, he didn’t see you. It took him 50 years before he sent Earth a message-that he found you and God, the relief we felt…You were alive and well…”

“Where do you come in?” Baekhyun asks, doubting.

“Our initial plan was to get you two out of there as soon as we get any form of news. But then…Red Force attacked. The entire police department stationed near Triangulum was destroyed-35 officers killed and every single wielder in the team just vanished into thin air…no matter how much we searched, there were no signs of them. To investigate, IAA issued another squad who will infiltrate RF’s base and pass on any info we need.”

“And you are in the special squad?”

“Sort of yes…Surprisingly RF doesn’t keep a record of its members…” Heechul answers, “The team called for some extra help like five years ago, something about RF’s main goal not being the extinction of wielders but the destruction of the universe…so the IAA sent us in as a backup but also to infiltrate deeper into the whole situation.”

“Us?” Baekhyun questioned, “Who else?”

“Me, Ravi, Jin, Minho and Moonbyul,” Heechul said, watching Baekhyun’s brows shoot off, “We kinda used some unpleasant ways to climb our way to the top…and now all five of us assigned pretty important positions. Ravi and I were assigned to fly this fleet here because apparently L-1485 is the heart of the universe and holds the key to the extinction of wielders or whatever that guy spoke about.”

“I see,” Baekhyun says, taking in everything, “Why are you telling me these? What if they hear you?”

“They wouldn’t, I made sure of it and I am telling you these because apparently you know much more about this situation than we do and it would be great if I send something other than, ‘Planning World DominationTM’ as my weekly report to the HQ.”

That pulls a laugh out of Baekhyun as he contemplates if he should heed by Heechul’s words and tell the older all he knows, “More like universe domination, they are literally planning on destroying this universe and create a new one.”

“What do you mean?” Heechul questions, leaning forward in interest.

Realizing what he had said, Baekhyun was quick to act, “I can tell you…anything you want to know but I want you to tell me everything you know about them. It’s not just about wielders now…they are planning something bigger.”

“I will,” Heechul confirmed, “What is it you wanted to know?”

“When I woke up for a few minutes yesterday…I heard you talk to someone about a collar or something like that…What did you mean?”

“Ravi and I were trying to get you off the cross so we made this up…” Heechul answered, “The collar is something RF scientists came up with which brainwashes anyone who wears it into supporting their ideology…and if they are wielder, their powers are technically sucked out of them…leaving them as a ‘normal human’ without the ability to wield. They wanted to execute you and we had to come up with something that would stop them from doing so.”

“What are you going to do now?” Baekhyun questioned, “Now that they know I am being brainwashed…what are you going to do next?”

“I don’t know…we didn’t think this far really, at that time our priority was to get you out of there.”

Baekhyun quietened, lost in thoughts, before speaking again, “Actually you can use that to your advantage.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can ‘collar’ me,” Baekhyun suggests, “Get a broken collar and put it on me…send me down to the others and tell your superiors that you are using me to gather the other guardians here…and when all of us are here…the twelve of us are strong enough to fight back…that would not only allow you time to get more information about them but also allow us twelve a shot to fulfil our duties as guardians and destroy darkness.”

Despite his hesitancy, Heechul saw the potential in Baekhyun’s idea and so he agreed, “Are you sure you want to do this? It might have side effects-none of them nice.”

Baekhyun nodded, “We can’t give up this amazing opportunity…Risking my life isn’t even that foreign to me anyway.”

“Now tell me about what you know, we need to come up with a plan.” Heechul grinned, encouraging the other to tell him of what he knows. So Baekhyun did. From Luhan’s dreams to the library underground, he told Heechul everything.

After days of planning and carefully crafted strategies, the guardians decided on putting it to action the next day, preparing everything they might need as well as preparing themselves emotionally and mentally.

The fight had carried on. The invasion of the limitless droids is still going on- the guardians destroying thousands of them every day and the robots returning in full force the next day. Like a never-ending game, the guardians had killed off the robots for the past two days, exhausting their powers to the point where barely any of them were able to attack in full force with all their might.

So the day before they carried through with their strategy, the guardians rested their powers, using their weapons instead to fend off the robots. When night befell and, quite generously, the robots stopped their attack and the guardians climbed in their beds for some rest before they begin their rescue mission at dawn.

The insistent knock on their door woke the sleeping guardians. Fearing another attack., the guardians pulled up their weapons, carefully approaching the door with guns held high to shoot. Carefully and cautiously, Chanyeol peeked out through the hole in the door, however, he was unable to see anything and thus had no choice but to open the door.

Expecting anything except a rugged Baekhyun waiting on the other side, the guardians froze, mind halting as they took in their friend-in flesh and very much real.

A sob ripped itself of Chanyeol’s throat as he enveloped the shorter in his arms, body curling itself around the other, “Baekhyun-”

Clutching the male, Chanyeol wept, heart at peace to find his mate, safe and alive. The others stood behind the embracing couple at different states of bewilderment. Baekhyun…he was safe…there was barely a scratch on him and the overflowing relief made their knees weaken.

The next to break was Jongdae-as soon as he realized that, no, it wasn’t a dream, he lunged at the couple, taking Baekhyun from Chanyeol’s arms and wrapping his own around his best friend as he cried out.

The reunion had all the guardians’ hearts at peace, Minseok pulling Jongdae and Baekhyun inside quickly once the situation has settled in and shut the door to avoid anyone seeing them.

Once Jongdae and Chanyeol had calmed down and stopped snatching Baekhyun from each other and smearing the other’s shirts with their snot, the guardians gathered around the table in the mess hall, hundreds of questions swirling in their minds.

The first one to break the relieved silence was Junmyeon, who pulled a chair out for Baekhyun, sitting the other down and getting him a glass of water before he fired his first question at him,

“What happened in the past two days?”

“I-” Baekhyun tried to organize his thoughts, “When you teleported without me, my barrier was weakened immensely…the dark cloud managed to infiltrate through it and then I lost consciousness.

When I woke up later, I was in a room with many other captives…I don’t really remember much because I kept losing consciousness. Then yesterday, they were taking all the prisoners out somewhere to do a check or something and one of the prisoners…he started a protest and fought against the guards so seeing my chance I escaped…it took me a day to navigate through the spaceship and find the exit. I dressed in one of the guard’s clothes and when I saw the chance I sneaked out.”

“I see,” Suho replied, nodding as he heard Baekhyun.

“But we need to go back to the spacecraft…” Baekhyun continued, shaking, “There are so many wielders held captive…if we free them, we can ask for their help when the final battle does come… “

“I am not letting you go back there any time soon,” Chanyeol and Jongdae refuse in unison, “I am not letting you go anywhere near there.”

“You don’t understand!” Baekhyun yells, “They are torturing these wielders…Everyday…they are taking them somewhere…and when they return…they are not the same; wielders are turning their backs on each other, joining the other side in hopes of getting to live one more day…We can’t just leave them there…”

“Baekhyun-”

“No, please, Ravi, Moonbyul and some other …all of them are there, refusing to give up…if not for the others, at least for the people we know…we are guardians, we are supposed to protect the Tree of Life…what is the point of protecting it if we don’t protect the wielders that were born because of it…”

“Okay,” Kris says finally, putting a hand on the shorter’s shoulder, “We will go,” then turning to the other guardians, he speaks, “We would have gone in there anyway to save Baekhyun…why not to save the others too?”

“Kris has a point,” Suho agrees, “We can still carry out our mission…we have the plan and everything, let’s do it,” Then looking at Baekhyun he says, “But if we feel like something is wrong, we will be getting out of there. Small sacrifices must be made for the greater good.”

“Thank you,” Baekhyun sighs, “I…the things that are going on up there…I can’t just sit and watch…”

“We understand,” Luhan smiles, “Let Yixing check up on you and then get some rest, we will leave when the sun’s risen, okay?”

Baekhyun nodded, Yixing coming forward to let his magic flow through the shorter’s body, healing and repairing his exhausted tissues. Resting his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder, with Jongdae carefully massaging his swollen wrists, Baekhyun falls into dreamland.

After three hours of sleep, Baekhyun is woken up by Chanyeol’s hand softly carding through his hair.

“Are we leaving?” he yawns, sitting up and stretching.

“Yeah…Are you sure you want to go back?” Chanyeol asks, worry trembling his voice, “I can’t lose you again, Baek…The past two days when we were planning our ambush…every moment my heart was unease…what if something happened to you? What if they indoctrinated you too?”

“I know you are scared, Chanyeol…I am too, but we need to go up there, we need to save those poor wielders…they are treated like animals, they are being researched on…cruel research and I can’t just sit and watch…“ Baekhyun reassures, “Stay with me, stay with me and we’ll get through this.”

“I am not letting you out of my sight…and I will be using my power if we are in trouble…don’t use your power…ever, no matter how much danger we are in.”

“Okay,” Baekhyun smiles, kissing his soulmate softly, “I promise, now go I have to get changed.”

Chanyeol returns the smile with a wary one of his, kissing Baekhyun again, savouring his mate’s lips on his before standing up and leaving the room, closing the door behind him to let Baekhyun get changed.

As soon as the door is closed, Baekhyun pulls a necklace out from where it was hidden behind his shirt, pushing some buttons on it. A second later, a holograph pops up, Heechul’s face appearing soon after.

“Baekhyunnie?”

“They are coming; we will be leaving for the spacecraft within half an hour.”

“Good, are you sure you want to do this? You can just stay…you have been through a lot these two days.”

“Just keep your promise hyung... just keep them safe,” Baekhyun said, “I am doing this to save all of you but I can’t lose them…they are my family now.”

“Don’t worry; I will do my best, stay safe!” Heechul promised before Baekhyun cut the call.

“I am terrified right now,” Jongdae mumbled, holding onto Minseok as they gathered around the table to go over the plan one last time, “I am literally gonna puke…”

“Stop being so dramatic,” Minseok rolled his eyes yet wound his arms around his husband, rubbing small circles on his shoulders, soothing the other’s nerves, “We will be okay.”

“I hope so,” Jongdae replies, burrowing his face in Minseok’s neck, sighing.

“I have never seen the two of you so affectionate before,” Luhan remarks, passing Minseok a cup of coffee as they wait for Baekhyun to come down.

“Oh you don’t know just how affectionate they can be,” Baekhyun said, climbing down the stairs and fitting himself by Chanyeol’s side, “Once…they gave each other _handjobs_ , on _my_ couch and they weren’t even _dating_ at the time.”

“Wha- Why was I never aware of this?” Jongin moans, wide eyes staring at the unbothered pair, “Dae hyung, I thought we promised to share everything!”

“Oh please, you were what…17-18 then, you expect me to just go in your room and be like oh by the way I gave Seokkie a handjob? I have morals.” Jongdae defended himself.

“And where was this moral when you were almost fucking on my couch?” Baekhyun questions, eyes teasing.

“Come on now, we were drunk and horny,” Jongdae whined, “At least I got my man before we were in a life and death situation.”

“Okay, stop.” Suho ordered, sighing, “I really don’t need to know who gave who a blowjob in whose couch…you figure it out by yourselves. Let’s get on with the plan now.”

“Why are you ruining my chance of getting good blackmail material?” Sehun whined, quietening once Suho gives him a deadly stare.

“What did you plan?” Baekhyun asks, saving the younger from Suho, laughing at the other’s relieved glance.

“We will be dividing into two teams,” Suho says, “Now we have an even number so we’ll divide into two sixes.”

“Team A would be responsible for getting all the wielders out while team B would act as a distraction.”

“As soon as everyone’s out and safe-except the ones who are obviously indoctrinated, we destroy the ship. Once all of us are out, Chanyeol’s going to burn it down. Everyone okay with it?”

A chorus of ‘Yes’ and ‘yep’ pulls a satisfied smirk out of Junmyeon as he says, “Let’s get it done and over with then.”

Sneaking in was easy, hiding themselves easier because of Baekhyun’s recovered light alternation abilities. Looking around, the guardians who are revisiting can attest the quietness and already terrifying atmosphere was different. Even though, little had changed, they couldn’t help but feel queasy…some kind of nervousness building up in their hearts.

“Hyung…” Jongdae whined, “Please, let’s go back…I don’t want to be here.”

“Do you think we want to be?” Minseok chided, extending his hand out for Jongdae to take, “Now that we are here, let’s get this done with quickly so we can get out…whining won’t make it faster.”

“Min,” Jongdae continued, “Aren’t you on my side? I am just scared; stop acting all brave, it doesn’t help my nerves.”

“Shh,” Kris glared, “Stop talking, I don’t care if you are gonna shit your pants, we are here to save those wielders and we are going to save them. Then we are going to destroy the ship and get our asses out. Whining wouldn’t help so stop and focus, you might miss something crucial.”

“Fine,” Jongdae relented, “My instincts are going haywire so I thought I’d keep a fair warning, do as you please.”

“Should we split?” Suho butts in, breaking what would turn to be a argument before it started, “I think we are deep enough.”

“No,” Baekhyun said, “There are still guards stationed here, we can’t see them because of my shield; it hinders our vision like it does for them.”

“Okay then,” Suho said, doubt present in his voice, “Whatever you think is best. And you two,” pointing at Kris and Jongdae he glared, “Not another argument, focus on the task in hand.”

The two mentioned men gulped, not wanting to get on the bad side of their short leader as they nodded.

Minutes-probably an hour or two, they couldn’t really tell-later, Luhan grew dubious. What was going on? They have been on the walk for so long and barely any chambers are seen while when he was teleported in, they had teleported straight to what had looked like the control centre…

Just was going on?

He started re-evaluating all the events leading up to now. Their capture, the others freeing them, Baekhyun’s capture and two days, a whole two days later his reappearance. Though he felt guilty suspecting his fellow guardian, the growing doubts in his mind only grew larger, making it impossible for Luhan to escape the dubious thoughts.

Giving in to himself, he searched for his mate who was busy supporting Baekhyun as the other kept the shield intact around them.

“Xing,” he called, “Can you come at the back please for a second?”

Yixing nodded, waiting for Baekhyun to shoot him a reassuring smile before he walked to the back, arms immediately wrapping around Luhan’s thinner frame as he pulls the older closer to him.

“What wrong?” He asked; worry lacing his voice, “Another vision?”

“No, not really…” the hesitancy in the other’s voice pulls a frown to grace Yixing’s face as he furrows his brows.

“What is it?”

“It’s just…I know this will sound really mean and ungrateful…” Luhan hesitates, “But…I don’t really trust Baekhyun.”

“What, why?” Luhan sighs in relief when Yixing doesn’t criticize him like he expected him to, instead sounding more confused as he questions the other.

“It’s not like I don’t trust him…but don’t you think the entire thing…this thing, looks too organized?”Luhan replies, “When we escaped…we knew that there were wielders in the ship and we even saw them being engulfed in darkness…but we didn’t want to come back. We wanted to save them yes, but we were never this eager to save them…Baekhyun, he looks too superficial about this…like he knows what will happen, telling us not to split, looking as if he is searching for something…it’s just making me doubt him…what if he is influenced by the darkness? I mean it could be a believable explanation to why he is so eager to be back as well as his sudden escape…he could be sent to bring us here to the devil’s lair.”

“You do have a point and I did feel the same at first…I know Suho is thinking the same as you too, but I don’t think he is under any influence. When I checked on him, I didn’t find anything that could make it seem like the darkness has took over him but I do feel like you are-”

Yixing was cut off by the blaring of alarms, red light whizzing through the air and passing through Baekhyun’s barrier, hitting the other straight on. Baekhyun tumbles back as a result, letting his magic stop and in an instant a blue ray hits his shield, shattering it into pieces. The walls open up, revealing gunned robots- the guns aimed straight at the wielders’ hearts.

Right where their orbs are.

Barely a second is given before the first shot is fired, hitting Baekhyun in his chest. Shock freezes everyone, eyes open wide as they watch, unable to move.

Then Baekhyun screams.

The resonance of the scream pulls every one out of their trances and Chanyeol, Jongdae and Xiumin flies to Baekhyun’s side, the male writhing on the floor, hand on chest, eyes open wide and even though his mouth is open in a scream-no sound comes out.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yells, throwing a careless shield in front of them as he pulls the male in his chest, uncaring of who it hits. The sound of metal bursting barely processing at the back of his mind, Chanyeol holds his mate close to him, the writhing male unable to stop.

Then it begins.

Slowly light pours out of his chest, the area hit stained with red and yet white-pale, pure white pours out, blinding all onlookers, the panicked guardians falling deeper into frenzy, barely having time to throw their powers out before the shooting restarts.

With all their attention taken by the unstoppable androids, the remaining guardians could only share a desperate glance with Minseok before he is throwing a unbreakable frost armour around where he, Jongdae and Chanyeol are gathered, clutching Baekhyun’s wasting body. Yixing tries to move, get to Baekhyun before the situation worsens but with every step he takes, he is forced back three.

The droids seem to be aware of his role, Yixing realizes once he is once again blasted back and away from Baekhyun. Worrying his lips between his teeth, Yixing could only try to figure out a way to get to the injured guardian before it turns fatal. Knowing water also has healing abilities, he catches Suho’s eyes, carefully conveying his plan to the other, a sigh of relief leaving his lips as he watches Suho nod, maneuvering himself to slowly edge toward the bubble of flame containing Baekhyun and Jongdae.

Chanyeol furrows his brows, pausing for a moment to comprehend what Suho is up to as he watches him dodge one last attack before slipping inside the shield. Immediately the droids attack, trying to break the shield and Yixing slides into Suho’s role as he destroys robots after robots, taking odd satisfaction in the way the metal crushes, caving into itself as the droids short circuit before a tiny explosion causes their end.

Everything is brought under control easily, the never ending stream of robots finally shortening as the wielders relentlessly took them down. One after another. One after another. With their dwindling numbers, victory was certain.

Or they thought.

As soon as the last bit of the android was turned to molten steel, courtesy of Chanyeol’s fire of course, and the guardians collapsed on to the ground, heaving for breath and exhausted to the bone, that’s when it started.

At first it wasn’t noticeable, Chanyeol crawling back in the bubble he had created to check on Baekhyun and Jongdae coming out of it, leaving his best friend to the care of his mate and the water bearer, lying down on Minseok’s lap with a relieved sigh.

The guardians stared at Jongdae, silently yet intently, waiting for the confirmation they wanted to hear. Jongdae’s nod set out a chorus of relieved sighs. Baekhyun was safe.

Carefully carrying Baekhyun, Chanyeol exited his bubble, Junmyeon following closely behind before it evaporated into thin air.

“Let’s go, I don’t want to stay here one more second.”

A silent agreement passed. Chanyeol is right; they can’t stay here where Baekhyun’s life has been risked twice. Slowly they rose to their feet, leaning on each other for support. With another glance, they formed a circle around Chanyeol, creating a defense wall in front of the male so if any further attack was to take place, Baekhyun is safe and away from harm’s way.

But it was when they took the first that they felt it. The small vibration of the ground below them slowly increasing in intensity before the ground shook violently throwing all the guardians on the floor. Then, shook the ceiling as a bar slowly lowered itself, caging the guardians in. In an attempt, Tao made to freeze time, but screamed instead when searing pain overcame his body. Kai tried teleporting but his results were the same as he collapsed, writhing in pain. Sehun tried to just escape before the bars fell completely, ending up tied up in air, suffocating.

“Good job,” a monotonous, mechanic voice cackled, “Your plan worked, he did listen to you and now we have all twelve guardians in our clutches. Tell the scientists to prepare for the extraction process; I want this done by tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, master,” A familiar voice gloated, “It was my pleasure to be of any use.”

Yixing, Luhan and Suho shared fearful wide-eyed stares-they were right, Baekhyun was indeed influenced by darkness. But what terrified the Martians most was not the towering man with savage features, thirst for violence and blood clearly imprinted on his expressions. Oh no, it wasn’t that-it was the smaller man beside him, the very man who had taught them unforgettable life lessons back in their academy. It was Kim Heechul that scared the Martians shitless and to have the strong-one of the strongest officers in SpaceX on the wrong side…They were terrified.

Shifting their focus back and forth between the vicious figure and their idol, the Martians-even the unknowing Earthians- felt shiver run down their spines.

They were losing the war and now the strongest have joined forces with the opposition…it was scary.

“Hello boys, I see Baekhyun has been successful in what I have given him to do,” Heechul gives a rueful smile toward the unconscious light wielder in Chanyeol’s arms, “Now I must do my part as well and give you a peaceful death as he had wished.”

Without waiting for anyone to speak, Heechul clapped his hands, few female humanoids in white dresses and red visors appearing instantly with sets of syringes in their hands. Too shocked to react, it took the humanoids only mere seconds before the guardians went limp, falling into a restless sleep and were carried off.

Baekhyun awoke in a hospital sort of room like he had done only a while ago, eyes widening once he took in his surrounding and noticed the packets of liquids hanging off to one side, connected to his hand. Wincing at the pain in his chest, he lets out a surprised gasp when his hands meet a bandage instead of the soft skin of his body. Taking a moment to get used to the surroundings, he sat up, surprised overcoming him once he saw eleven males, dressed in white lab uniforms, lying unconscious on the beds. Like him, they also have packets of clear liquid attached to their hands.

Letting everything sink in, Baekhyun sighs in relief once he sees no one guarding them, the room pretty much vacant except him and the guardians.

For now the plan is going according to plan and Baekhyun can only hope that Heecul does his part right. Hearing the door opening, he slides back to lie down, pretending to still be unconscious and falling into an exhausted, fitful sleep.

“Baekhyun,” a whisper, somewhere far off, a voice too familiar, “Baekhyunnie!”

Opening his eyes, he finds Heechul hovering over him, eyes worried.

“Hyung?”

“Yeah, can you sit up?”

Baekhyun holds Heechul’s hand for support as he sits up, wincing at the pain shooting up his chest, “What are you doing here, hyung?”

“We have a change of plans,” Heechul whispered, careful to not wake the others up, “RF is smarter than we thought, escaping with the captives isn’t a possible anymore, they have high security installed there.”

“Then?”

“We will have to attack; we have to fight our way out so stay prepared when an agent comes to get you out.”

“What are you doing here?” Kris asks voice deep and full of rage.

“Yifan!” Heechul smiles, the smile falling off when he sees the dark expression on the other’s face.

Everyone stirs awake at Yifan’s loud voice.

“Wh-” Junmyeon cuts himself off when his eyes fall on Heechul, eyes growing wide and alerted.

“Shh,” Heechul warns, “Whisper, they can’t know I am here.”

“Guys, before you do anything, hear him out. He’s on our side.” Baekhyun sighs at the panicked look in other’s eyes and the betrayed expression on Martians’ faces.

“What is there to know?” Yixing spits, “He’s with RF.”

“No, he isn’t. Just listen to him,” Baekhyun sighs, “Let him explain.”

Luhan scoffs, “He was laughing when we were captured, what even is there to explain?”

“That’s called putting up an act,” Heechul retorts, “Bold of you to assume anyone could save you if I didn’t put up an act of being overjoyed when I saw Baekhyun bleeding.”

“They are smarter than what we thought. When we sent you down there,” Heechul continues, “They set up the craft on auto attack and set up triggers everywhere. I didn’t have the time to warn you, I am sorry.”

Baekhyun takes Heechul’s hands in his and gives the male a smile, reassuring him of his health and encouraging him to talk..

So Heechul does. With wide eyes, the guardians listen to Heechul speak as the older explains to the group what his role is.

“A secret agent.” Heechul confirms once Chanyeol asks. He tells them of the horrors he witnessed, of how the simple organization leads to much darker deeds and the guardians listen.

“When Baekhyun told me that there is a bigger force at play, I was confused, but after listening to him…it all made sense. They had wanted to find this planet for decades now, hiding their real intentions behind the guise of wiping off wielders.”

“Do you know how the evil may look?” Luhan questions, “In my visions, it was just dark clouds of black smoke.”

“You know the man I was with when I went to see you when you were captured?” Heechul asks, continuing when the guardians nod, “He…I think he’s the one.”

“He did look like that, God, he gave me chills.” Tao confirms, exaggerating a shiver to emphasize his point.

“I know right,” Heechul laughs, “I hate being in the same room as him…”

That’s when they hear the sounds of the doors opening and immediately lies back down, pretending to sleep when a humanoid walks in.

“What are you doing here?”

“Just checking if this one has any chance to live,” Heechul grins, wicked act back in place, “He is the strongest of the bunch. If you killed him, the rest would be easy. Too bad he lived.”

The humanoid nurse frowns, “I can kill him now,” getting automated blades out he approaches the light guardian.

“Hey, now!” Heechul stops her, “Not yet. Now that he lived, we can use him to experiment. Give all of them the doses I set, it will start weathering their orbs and power extraction would be easier for us.”

The humanoid nurse sighs, “Don’t play with us, Kim.”

“I am not.” Heechul smirks, “Do your job or you might meet your end in today’s meeting.”

Then he’s out, giving the guardians a reassuring look, he makes sure to know they will be safe.

Loud explosion and screams wake the guardians from the sedated sleep they were put into. Red blaring lights from the hallway sneaks into their stranded room and the guardians sits up groggily, confused by the chaos they are hearing from outside.

A loud bang resounds just outside their door and they watch as the door collapses and a female humanoid stride in, looking behind her before she’s taking off her helmet and letting her silver hair flow.

The Martians gape at her appearance, “Taeyeon noona?!”

“Hello there kiddos,” the female smiles, giving the guardians a salute, “Now I’d love to smother all of you in hugs and kisses but the situation isn’t really very ideal for it.”

“What’s going on outside?” Junmyeon asks politely, relieved that it was one of their side that barged in.

“You might be the Earthian kids I have heard so much about!” Taeyeon gushes, face unbothered when she destroys an approaching armada of droids behind her, still facing the guardians as she talks, “I think that was an answer enough. But, the captives are out and we have attacked.” She says, destroying the lone droid that managed to creep up behind her, “We don’t have much time before the officials arrive…and the leader.”

“That’s good.” Baekhyun rejoices but Taeyeon’s face falls grim, “Noona?”

“It is but we are weakened….some of us hasn’t wielded anything in over a century so a lot of us have become unused to it.”

“We should help,” Luhan said, determined.

“Yeah,” everyone nodded making Taeyeon smile,

“My kids are all grown up, aww.” She laughed, “Just rip the plugs off, they were never attached to you properly. The doses of ‘extraction syringes’ you were given are enhancing pills…so you are stronger than before, whenever you are ready, feel free to jump in but I need to go to the right wing now.”

“Be careful!” Baekhyun calls behind her as Taeyeon struts out, “That girl…”

“Shall we jump in then?”

“Yep,” everyone chorused, jumping off their beds, and gathering together.

Fighting their way through the endless sea of androids, humanoids and robots, the twelve guardians made their way to the centre where the rest of the wielders are gathered.

A quick reunion was all they could afford before the ship shook, flames bursting off the cables. Everyone cheered at that, the fire wielders protecting everyone while the flame burned down the droids, leaving molten steel and explosion in their wake.

“Heechul and Jin were successful!” they cheered, making their way toward the exit.

“How many teleporters do we have?” someone asked at the front, “The fire’s surrounding us.”

“With Jongin, around 25!”

“Start teleporting then, we don’t have much time.”

Following the lead of the male at the front, the teleporters grasped the hands of the wielders, forming a circle as they gathered around all the wielders and at the count of five, they teleported.

This time no one was left behind and they celebrated their escape with a loud cheer, watching as Heechul is flown out of the cockpit by Jin, the ship exploding at the back, causing smaller explosions around it and destroying the surrounding fleet.

The celebration didn’t last much longer however. As soon as Heechul and Jin joins their group, the ground shakes violently, the sky blackening.

“They are here,” Heechul breathes.

The wielders could only stare up at the sky in fear as creatures unlike what they have ever seen descend down from the sky. Above them, a majestic robe of darkness flows around a figure, majestic and huge. The violent, aggressive face comes to view and the wielders shiver in unison.

Then it begins.

Barely, the wielders have time to put a shield around them as creatures of night-ugly and bloodthirsty descend upon them.

Heechul starts shouting out orders, the wielders scattering around immediately, following Heechul’s orders as they counter attack.

“Give up, guardians.” A snarl sounds, “You can’t win against my forces.”

Kris laughs, dagger piercing through the heart of one of the demons as he ascends to the sky, “We will see about that.”

“Very well then.” The figure laughs, then in an ancient language yells out an order, the demons stopping their attacks and turning their attention instead to the Lignum Vitae.

Suho yells out his own order for the wielders, telling them to protect the tree. The guardians assemble in front of the tree, telling the sheer might of their powers unite as they pierce through the legion of demons, not letting them touch even the shield around the Lignum Vitae, the hundreds of other wielders helping them.

“You know, it’s like the final battle of an epic superhero film,” Taeyeon laughs, skidding across the sky in front of the tree, whacking off any demons that comes close enough-the movement violent yet graceful.

“Heechul hyung’s iron man,” Kris laughs, coming beside her to help her through.

“Hey I am not gonna die!” Heechul complains, blasting through the demons surrounding him.

“What am I then?” Taeyeon questions, throwing a blast of energy toward the legion in the sky.

“Scarlet Witch,” Jin laughs, coming to aid her as well, “Well more like silver witch.”

“I am that powerful?”

“You are the strongest female wielder we know of noona,” Kris rolls his eyes, “Now, who’s gonna take one for the team and provoke Thanos chilling over there?”

“Us,” The infamous duo flies next to them.

“Tae, Jimin…” Jin chides, “Just be quiet and go help Namjoon over there.”

“You mean Doctor Strange?” the duo laughs, yet still listening to Jin as they fly off to help the others.

“Why are you even having a conversation about Marvel in the middle of a battle that could destroy the universe?” Baekhyun raises his brows from where he is stationed, burning down the creatures of dark one by one.

“Because we can,” Jin teases, “And also this is literally the battle of endgame.”

“As long as no one dies,” Baekhyun chides, pulling himself out of the conversation and focusing on the demons instead.

“He’s still a baby,” Taeyeon coos, “A baby puppy.”

“Noona.” Baekhyun warns, earning bouts of laughs from Sehun and Chanyeol beside him.

“You two.”

“Sorry, pup.” Chanyeol teases, fire intertwining with Baekhyun’s light and blasting off a legion, whining when it gets replaced easily by another armada of demons, “Why is there so many?”

The battle continues on in the night, the wielders still fighting in earnest despite their exhaustion.

“I ca-I can’t anymore…my well is empty.” Chanyeol pants, trying to push out every drop of his power.

“Hold my hand,” Yixing commands, closing his eyes as he recovers Chanyeol’s well for him.

“Thank you hyung,” Chanyeol smiles in gratitude, “Are you not tired?”

“I am but since I am a healer my tiredness is pretty much healed as soon as it begins so I have no problem.”

“Ah…” Chanyeol nods in understanding, ears picking up Taeyeon and Jin’s argument about which avenger is the best. “God I wish we had the infinity stones…that would have made everything easier.”

Yixing laughs, ruffling Chanyeol’s hair, while killing off an approaching demon.

“How are they even so energized?”

“They have what we call raw power,” Yixing explains, “They are one of the ten people who possesses the power. Heechul hyung, Taeyeon noona and Jin I mean. They can shape their magic in any form-light, fire, water, anything suitable for the moment-so their power wells are greater than ours.”

“They are the strongest of the strongest. They have always ranked at the top of the wielder rankings back the institute but our definition of strong is not only power wise. It depends on the wielder’s power, their intelligence and wit and their leadership.”

“They are leader?” Chanyeol gapes.

“Don’t they look like one?”Yixing frowns.

“It’s not that, they just…they are literally arguing about the best marvel character in the middle of a battle that could destroy the universe.”

Yixing topples over in laughter, gasping when a demon manages to blast him off his feet. He waits until Chanyeol has burned it to crisp before he says, “You have a point, they are literally clowns…Luxiana knows how they are so able.”

Dawn breaks out, the once green field now blackened with ash and demon blood, the fresh crisp air replaced by the disgusting smell of demons burning and of their blood. Stained red and black because of the bloods shed by both sides, the ground bears the mark of a hard played battle.

The never ending battle seems to tire out even the demons as disappear off finally, leaving the wielders to pant and recover their lost powers. Except it doesn’t last long for soon after, the Devil himself- so coined Thanos- descends himself, battling by himself against the legion of wielders.

One by one the wielders fall until only a few of them are left standing.

“I told you, win is ours. Remove the blanket around the Lignum Vitae and I might even let you live.”

“Ha, as if.” Heechul laughs, throwing shards of ice draped with flame toward the towering figure.

“We are fulfilling our duties as the guardians,” Suho says, “Until we fall, you cannot even touch the shield, let alone the tree.”

“Have it your way then,” He laughs, gathering the fallen demons one by one and engulfing them as he glows, “I shall win this battle. This universe-I can make it better.”

“By getting rid of all hope and making it fall into chaos of pain and suffering?” Kyungsoo laughs, “I would rather prefer to live in a universe that is imperfect then.”

Another evening and the battle goes on, wielders leaving and wielders joining, constantly keeping Him engaged in fights despite the unsuccessful attempts at defeating. It doesn’t take long until they realise that evil is indestructible.

That’s when Luhan has another vision, jumping to his feet as soon as it ends.

“Taemin!” He calls, “Connect me to everyone’s minds.”

Taemin does he is told, exhausted power flowing out to everyone as he connects ttheir mind to Luhan’s.

“Guys,” he calls, everyone halting for a moment of surprise. “I had a vision and I have an idea.”

“What?” Yixing asks, worried.

“Combine every single one of ours powers into one blast,” Luhan says, “Every drop and every emotion. Everything we are in a way. Put our souls into that blast and send it toward his head.”

“Why head?”

“It’s the weakest part of him. We can't end him because q lives off humans and humans aren't pure but we can contain him, we can destroy his roots and weaken him. That will be enough.”

“How can we gather all our powers?”

“Through a medium.”

“Where can we find the medium?” Tao questions.

Heechul and Taeyeon speaks in unison, “Through a wielder.”

“Who will do it?”

“I will.” Heechul, Baekhyun and Taeyeon choruses. Before an argument breaks out, Heechul speaks,

“Listen,  I am the strongest wielder in history. Let me do it, who knows what are the risks and all of you have lives of your own. You have your spouses to return to…I don't,  let me do it and if something happens at least no one has to bear that burden for the rest of their lives.”

The Martians sigh in unison, feeling their heart fall at the mention of Heechul’s husband, heart heavy as they remember his tragic end.

“Okay,” Taeyeon sighs some time later, “Oppa..I want you back in one piece,  don't actually become ironman. “

Heechul laughs softly,  heart heavy, “I will try my best.”

Luhan quietly guides the wielders, “Everyone make way for Heechul hyung, and start directing all your powers to him.”

Quietly, everyone follows the instructions, making a way for Heechul as he flies toward Him. As the evil and Heechul starts their one to one showdown, everyone pushes every drop of their powers toward the male, Heechul lighting up colourfully as all forms of powers transfer inside him and then he starts.

Backing away, he blasts his power at Him one by one, letting the others magic intertwine inside him, heating up his core. His body glows and when his eyes open, the wielders and demons alike are mesmerized by the gold core around his pupils.

The devil stops once, watching with surprise as Heechul ascends and ascends, the power flowing around him like a stream and Heechul takes full advantage of it. He flies at full speed at Him, grasping Him in a tight headlock, wrapping himself around Him before he sends a rueful smile toward the halted wielders.

Then he explodes.

Screaming begins as soon as Heechul bursts, from demons and wielders alike. Demons in pain and agony while wielders in grief.

Heechul collapses. The evil stands still.

“I told you I will win.” He laughs.

Then it happens. Light explodes out in the field. Every demon screaming as they begin to fade and the Devil stops, staring at his subjects fading in front of their eyes.

With stunted silence, the wielders watch the devil light up, shape changing as it becomes something they cant make out anymore. It compresses. Becomes smaller and smaller until a puff of darkness is left and then a golden box appears, caging that puff and shutting off.

Then everything is done. The box drops with a thud beside Heechul's burnt body.

The wail that leaves Taeyeon’s lips doesn’t help. The heart wrenching cry as she stumbles upto his body, desperate hope in her eyes as she tries to get her magic to revive the fallen man only makes the tears in the others' eyes fall, loud weeps of sorrow instead of whoops of joy fills the air and the wielders watch as Taeyeon drapes herself over his body, inconsolable.

“Taeyeonnie….” A whisper in their mind halts them, eyes widening once they hear Heechul's weak voice whisper, “I promised when I go, I will say my goodbyes. So don’t cry and look on the brighter side you are the strongest wielder now, your dream…out finally achieved it…crying for an oldie like me… be happy… I am finally going back to him… He… my husband is waiting for a long time so smile for me when I fly to him…”

“Oppa.. You promised, you wouldn't leave… you promised to not be like iron man and you broke it…”

“I am sorry but keep your promise and let me go while smiling, let me go guilt free so I can rest in peace and not haunt you in your dreams to apologise all the time…”

Heechul's voice fades, Baekhyun running out of Chanyeol's arms to fall beside Taeyeon . He grips her hand as he cradles Heechul's head in his lap. Barely Heechul waits his final moments for the smile he was promised. Taeyeon tries to, failing miserably as a sob tears out of her chest. Shaking her head, she returns Baekhyun's grip, the two of them giving shaky smiles before a serene smile graces Heechul's lips as he closes his eyes.

‘Baek… take care of Taeyeon for me…the siblings that were born of different parents but mean the most to me, be happy or I will haunt you in your dreams…I love you…’

Then everythin is silent. Mind numbing silent as Taeyeon and Baekhyun wallows in their grief, clutching the body of their brother close.

They will be happy. They will fulfil Heechul's last wish but for now crying and grieving is fine.

The prize was huge and the sacrifice would never be recovered. But they won the war.

 

 

 


End file.
